Forward to the Past
Fran used to love saying that Sicily, or at least Sciacca, was very much like Dunkirk was in the 50's. Indeed, there are many things about Sicily and Sciacca that are like things were in small town America in the 50's when we were growing up.
If you have not read about them yet, they include stores closing at noon for lunch hour; stores closing for a half day one day a week (Wednesday!!, just like in Honeoye Falls, NY where I grew up); stores being closed on Sundays. There are also new strip malls being built in Sicily, just as there were in America during the late 50's. Slowly one sees the small fruit and vegetable dealers, especially those that use their small trucks (here the three wheeled APE's) leaving their usual corners in front of grocery stores as the stores themselves start stocking cellophane wrapped, pre weighed, and pre priced produce. The amount of shelf space taken up by bread in grocery stores is increasing, as is the presence of that soft, plastic I remember as Wonder Bread, that I could take and compress into a tiny ball. No wonder some of the small panificios (bread bakeries) are having a hard time of it, and closing. The same is happening with the butcher shops, as the large mercati increase the space given over to the butcher. The same with the pasticcerias where sweet deserts are made and sold.
But I am glad to say, and Fran knew this, that Sicily is ever resilient. What other land could have been conquered so many times and still not given up its identity? Sicily has put out the welcome mat to armies of the Carthaginians, the Athenians, the Spartans, the Trojans, the Romans, the Arogoneese, the Angivinians, the Normans, the Swabians, the Germans, the English, and the Americans. (Probably some others that I do not remember right now) Every time they were conquered, they listened to whatever the new rules of comportment were to be, and they continued to do as they pleased. If they heard what sounded like a good idea, they would wait until the next wave of invasion to try it out. They said they would follow the new rules of whoever was the current ruler, and then they would blithely go on their way, doing what they had always done, frustrating the conquerors who were trying to bring about a new and improved order to Sicily. The Sicilians were always a step behind, as well as being a step ahead, and usually both at the same time.
However, suddenly, I have seen some old friends where they used to be. They have changed slightly. Their three wheel shops are cleaner, and a little fancier. They have even, some of them, built new kiosks on the sidewalks. The itinerent produce sellers are now itinerent fish mongers. The folks with the small fruit and vegetable shops are now the folks with the small fish shops. The old APE's are retrofitted with water proof beds and refrigeration units. The fruit kiosks are getting more electricity for more refrigeration. More and more neighborhoods are getting their own fish peddler, sometimes where a panificio used to be. Of course, the fancy new markets do not want to have fresh fish, as it spoils too quickly, and even wrapping it in plastic does not hide the smell of pesce spada gone bad.
And thank goodness, more and more Sicilians are returning to their butcher, their baker, their ortofruttici, and ignoring the prewrapped, prepriced drek that is on the supermarket shelf. They have found that at least when the neighborhood guy puts the rotten strawberris on the bottom of the container, they can dig down and find out how many strawberries are rotten. In the supermarkets, it is not possible to do that under the plastic wrap. They have also found that only at the butcher shop can they watch to see how much bone is ground into their sausage, and such a thing is just not possible in the large supermarkets, where you can only watch through the big windows as the butchers work fifteen feet away. Slowly, just about everyone but the nonni are becoming aware that even though junior and junioressa seem to like the softer, seemingly fresher bread, there may be something wrong with bread that was made in Milan, shipped to Sicily, and has a stay fresh date for a week on the shelf.
So Forza Sicily!! The retro trend may take hold. Of course, I think we will still get strip malls, but perhaps they will have smaller stores, specializing in what they do best. The big box electronic stores (yes, we have them) will continue to draw customers for the big ticket items, that can not be easily brought into a shop for repair. I think folks will start flocking back to the little guys, who are willing to help with repair, or help get the warrenty honored on the smaller appliances.
With the new super taxes on the monster automobiles (by monster automobiles, I basically mean anything larger than a VW Golf) the popularity of the smaller European cars is coming back. Of course, they may be driving fuel cell cars here long before America has such cars available as prototypes for testing. So who said Sicily always has to look through a telescope to see the 21st century?
Now if we could only get them to modernize the health care system. Then people would not be treated merely because they are ill and in need of a doctor's care, but because they have a lot of money or good insurance. That would be real progress here.
Perhaps we are stuck in the 50's. Perhaps we are even crawling into the 60's. But it is here Fran loved to be, and it is where I want to continue to be as well.
Steve
If you have not read about them yet, they include stores closing at noon for lunch hour; stores closing for a half day one day a week (Wednesday!!, just like in Honeoye Falls, NY where I grew up); stores being closed on Sundays. There are also new strip malls being built in Sicily, just as there were in America during the late 50's. Slowly one sees the small fruit and vegetable dealers, especially those that use their small trucks (here the three wheeled APE's) leaving their usual corners in front of grocery stores as the stores themselves start stocking cellophane wrapped, pre weighed, and pre priced produce. The amount of shelf space taken up by bread in grocery stores is increasing, as is the presence of that soft, plastic I remember as Wonder Bread, that I could take and compress into a tiny ball. No wonder some of the small panificios (bread bakeries) are having a hard time of it, and closing. The same is happening with the butcher shops, as the large mercati increase the space given over to the butcher. The same with the pasticcerias where sweet deserts are made and sold.
But I am glad to say, and Fran knew this, that Sicily is ever resilient. What other land could have been conquered so many times and still not given up its identity? Sicily has put out the welcome mat to armies of the Carthaginians, the Athenians, the Spartans, the Trojans, the Romans, the Arogoneese, the Angivinians, the Normans, the Swabians, the Germans, the English, and the Americans. (Probably some others that I do not remember right now) Every time they were conquered, they listened to whatever the new rules of comportment were to be, and they continued to do as they pleased. If they heard what sounded like a good idea, they would wait until the next wave of invasion to try it out. They said they would follow the new rules of whoever was the current ruler, and then they would blithely go on their way, doing what they had always done, frustrating the conquerors who were trying to bring about a new and improved order to Sicily. The Sicilians were always a step behind, as well as being a step ahead, and usually both at the same time.
However, suddenly, I have seen some old friends where they used to be. They have changed slightly. Their three wheel shops are cleaner, and a little fancier. They have even, some of them, built new kiosks on the sidewalks. The itinerent produce sellers are now itinerent fish mongers. The folks with the small fruit and vegetable shops are now the folks with the small fish shops. The old APE's are retrofitted with water proof beds and refrigeration units. The fruit kiosks are getting more electricity for more refrigeration. More and more neighborhoods are getting their own fish peddler, sometimes where a panificio used to be. Of course, the fancy new markets do not want to have fresh fish, as it spoils too quickly, and even wrapping it in plastic does not hide the smell of pesce spada gone bad.
And thank goodness, more and more Sicilians are returning to their butcher, their baker, their ortofruttici, and ignoring the prewrapped, prepriced drek that is on the supermarket shelf. They have found that at least when the neighborhood guy puts the rotten strawberris on the bottom of the container, they can dig down and find out how many strawberries are rotten. In the supermarkets, it is not possible to do that under the plastic wrap. They have also found that only at the butcher shop can they watch to see how much bone is ground into their sausage, and such a thing is just not possible in the large supermarkets, where you can only watch through the big windows as the butchers work fifteen feet away. Slowly, just about everyone but the nonni are becoming aware that even though junior and junioressa seem to like the softer, seemingly fresher bread, there may be something wrong with bread that was made in Milan, shipped to Sicily, and has a stay fresh date for a week on the shelf.
So Forza Sicily!! The retro trend may take hold. Of course, I think we will still get strip malls, but perhaps they will have smaller stores, specializing in what they do best. The big box electronic stores (yes, we have them) will continue to draw customers for the big ticket items, that can not be easily brought into a shop for repair. I think folks will start flocking back to the little guys, who are willing to help with repair, or help get the warrenty honored on the smaller appliances.
With the new super taxes on the monster automobiles (by monster automobiles, I basically mean anything larger than a VW Golf) the popularity of the smaller European cars is coming back. Of course, they may be driving fuel cell cars here long before America has such cars available as prototypes for testing. So who said Sicily always has to look through a telescope to see the 21st century?
Now if we could only get them to modernize the health care system. Then people would not be treated merely because they are ill and in need of a doctor's care, but because they have a lot of money or good insurance. That would be real progress here.
Perhaps we are stuck in the 50's. Perhaps we are even crawling into the 60's. But it is here Fran loved to be, and it is where I want to continue to be as well.
Steve
posted by Steve at 5:38 PM
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