Edited BY


G P Kennedy


Ellie - Milan, Italy

 This being the last official week of summer (with school starting next week), we decided to do our best to commemorate it, by doing something summer-related. 

 We went biking, and I wouldn't be very far off saying that our area is the birthplace of road biking in Italy. The Prealps. However, we were so surprised to see that the road of our chosen route was almost empty.



 It is grape harvest time. The local vines in the region of Suno in the Piedmont are of the uva fragola variety - a particular kind that was actually imported from the US during the 19th century phylloxera period. 

 They are pest resistant, but the wine can't be called wine; as per regulations, they are called fragolino, or strawberry wine. 

 The fields are very quiet on a Saturday afternoon, which is unusual at this time of year. Not only bikers are absent, but also harvesters. The vineyards are heavy with grapes.




 We leaned our bikes and had a picnic hear. It's next to this tiny church fuori le mura, or outside of the town limits. The church is secluded and meditative. 









 And at this point, no matter where we look, we find reminders of the brevity of life. 



 They have been there for centuries, but I guess they were never taken seriously. At least in our lifetimes.





 Back in town to the downtown, we noticed that there is planning to go ahead and still welcome its annual street food festival. 


 It was originally slated to take place in the spring. But of course, these plans fell through. With daily new cases at around 1500, it seems people have forgotten the lurking danger and are planning to mingle for real. 








 I wonder what will be the most dramatic change in society after all this is over. I think it will be the feeling of communal life and the possibilities of presence. 

 

 We will lose a lot of features that come with presence: chance, the physical sensation of another human unrelated to us, serendipity, and appreciation of embodiment that few people notice until it is taken away from us. 

 The possibility to decide last-moment, so, spontaneity and the feeling of other bodies moving in a chaotic, Italian way that is still confirmation of coexistence. I miss last year so much.




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