I Was Bored - So I Bought Myself An Aston Martin

Ciao a tutti,

I can't remember the exact phrase of how she said it because I just when I heard it I couldn't stop laughing, but it was something like that. What happened was that I got a call from my friend Caruska and she was inviting me to her house for a party. I must have asked what was the occasion, and she said something like, "I was bored, so I bought myself and Aston Martin."

Well, count me in, I said, that's reason enough for a party as far as I am concerned. This was the first call like this I have ever gotten, but I trust it won't be the last, at least not from her. She is one of the most amazing women I know. She is Caruska as in Caruska the designer Caruska almost synonymous to "yoga wear," and more. You can learn more about her at www.carushka.com/.

So off to the party I go. What does this have to do with being Italian? Everything always has to do with being Italian, at least in my life. I am sure if I wanted to stretch it, I could find someone at the party who was Italian, at the very least. But I could do better than that.

Here I was minding my own business enjoying this amazing party, when all of a sudden in busts her beautiful niece and her niece's friends, a troop of actors, all buzzing with excitement.

They had just come from the theater where they had all been in a play including the playwright himself, Kevin Kramer, and Caruska's niece, called "Bacciarelli," at the Ruskin Group Theatre in Santa Monica.

The play, is a play within a play, about Gordo and his college buddy who write a play to impress a girl and freak out when the characters inexplicably come to life. The play is based on a game called, "Bacciarelli," which is thought to have been originated by Scotch-Irish and Italian immigrants in the mills of Western Pennsylvania near the turn of the century.

The fast paced game of mystifying hand gestures swept the region by storm during the late 1950s and early 1960s where underground matches wowed the rowdy and often stupefied crowds who had gathered to see burgeoning legends such as Knuckles Norris, Ned Longbecker, and the upstarts Swissvale Three.

During the 1970s, however, just as the game seemed to be breaking away from it's local roots, rumors of organized crime involvement and cheating scandals splintered the Bacciarelli community and the game never recovered.

The play was on it's last run and I never got to see it but I sure would have wanted to. From their enthusiasm and that of the critics, it seems, it would have been a fun experience. So, that is the Italian connection but had I searched hard enough I could have found many more I am sure but I was there for a good time.

Oh, I forgot, there are Italian connections with the Aston Martin too, various models and various movies, etc. But in case you are not familiar with the car, it is the one used in 007 movies and is, one could say, a cousin to the Ferrari.

Above you see Caruska and I modeling the car. The party was in full swing when I got there so we couldn't just abandon everyone and go for a spin, but I can't wait until we do. Below those there is a picture of the actor troop and I somewhere behind them. And finally, some pictures taken with and by some people at the party.

Thank you Caruska for giving me a clue of what to do next time I am really bored. I don't know about you, but I can't wait to be soooo bored, I'll have to by a Lamborghini!

A presto,

Filippo

P.S. This video that I found on Youtube.com is perfect for this post. This guy and his father were so bored, they drove to Italy from London to visit an Olive Tree. And the part that makes it so perfect is they did it in an Aston Martin. (In English)