The "Hand Out" group—which is really the San Paolo group of Fede e Luce—began its activities last October. Over the months, its members and the young people they work with grew closer, forging a deepening friendship. To finish the season strong, they decided to do something more ambitious than the usual party.
After considering various proposals, they settled on two ideas: a theatrical performance at the theater in their headquarters (at the Centro Giovanile San Paolo Ostiense), and an outing with friends from the other groups.
For the theatrical production, they chose two one-act farces. The entire cast—including the director—was making their debut. About a month before opening night, rehearsals began. They happened every evening, whenever the space and schedules allowed, and the director had her hands full coaching ambitious actors like Sergio, Settimio, and Enrico. These three had remarkable memories—so remarkable that each night they delivered lines entirely different from the ones they'd learned before.
Finally, after all the effort, May 22nd arrived. Before a packed audience, Clara gave an opening speech and the curtain rose on the first farce. The scene: the inside of a railway car, filled with the most absurd passengers. Agnese had the courage to enter first. Then came an elderly couple, Rita and Roberto, who had one notable quality: they were deaf. There was an irate woman traveler, Adriana, who'd had a sharp exchange with an impertinent girl, Leo. A chatterbox of the highest order, Cinzia. A drunk, Cecilia. And even a fussy man half asleep, Enrico, who gets into a quarrel with the conductor, Ettore. Finally, a country woman, Teresa, who in her inexperience had left her husband on the train platform.
When the first farce ended, there was a musical interlude. Cinzia played guitar while the audience joined in singing, and behind the scenes the crew scrambled to change the "lavish" sets.
Another song, and the second farce began. This one featured a miser—or rather, a penny-pincher named Settimio who lived in perpetual darkness to save on candles. He becomes the target of witty pranks by Luigi, played by Sergio, and schemes carried out by Tonia and Saverio, played by Manuela and Raffaele.
Everything seemed to go perfectly, from the audience's point of view. They couldn't see Clara nearly shouting at Settimio when he skipped the funniest scene, or Manuela trying to prompt Sergio when he forgot his line, or all the other small mishaps it's better left unsaid.
What mattered most was not just that the audience enjoyed themselves. It was the deep bond that formed between the group and the young people as they worked together almost every evening to bring the play to life. That bond was sealed even more firmly by the outing scheduled for Tivoli on June 5th.
And what a trip it was... (and I'm going to tell you about it!)
We were supposed to meet at our headquarters at 7:30 a.m. Clara, perhaps to avoid being called late, decided the night before to set her clock ahead a bit. So she was the first to arrive—at six o'clock. Then, much later, everyone else showed up between 7:15 and 8:00, though they'd been ready since the night before.
At 8 o'clock, after various warnings from parents, we did a headcount. Everyone was there. Off we went to San Giovanni, where another group of travelers was waiting for us.
All forty-three of us crammed into two buses. We took off like a rocket, tires squealing, headed for Tivoli. Incredible! A journey that normally takes forty-five minutes took us—with seatbelts fastened and parachutes ready—one hour, forty-seven minutes, and forty-four seconds. A real record! All thanks to our two pilots: Rocco Lumaca and Massimo Tartaruga.
The important thing is we got there. Our plan was simple: spend the morning visiting Villa d'Este with Leo as our expert guide, then transfer to Villa Adriana where we'd eat and tour the villa, followed by games and, to close out the day, a Mass celebrated by Louis.
That was the plan. But as soon as we arrived—surprise! The villas were closed because of a staff strike. So on Settimio's advice, we went to the Sanctuary of Quintilio instead. With no other choice, there was nothing to debate.
When we got there, we realized we'd left behind in Rome a suitcase containing some of the game equipment. Sergio and Settimio took a car back to Rome on a hopeless search for it.
Meanwhile, to get started, Louis and Robert directed the construction of an altar out of precious but very wobbly travertine, propped up with ears of grain and an old half-destroyed crate. Raffaele, using two pieces of wood from the crate, built an artistic cross.
On this altar, made with everyone's participation—nature included—the Mass was celebrated. Everyone attended and participated fully.
Lunch came next. After we ate, some of us got hot, and since the fountain that had been there a few months earlier was now closed, everyone was gripped by terrible thirst. The village was two kilometers away, so we took turns going to nearby families to beg—our mouths dry with thirst—for water. We ended up needing fifty liters. (We've seen camels be less thirsty than we were!)
Once everyone had drunk their fill, we divided into four teams:
The Elephants, captained by Leo, with Goffredo, Robert, Robertina, and Giulio;
The Worms, captained by Sergio, with Santina, Teresa, Louis, Agnese, and Raffaele;
The Ladybugs, captained by Cinzia, with Anna Maria, Arturo, Sergio, Mauro, Robertona, Silvia, and Laura;
The Rabbits, captained by Cecilia, with Settimio, Luisa, Paolo, Enrico, Simonetta, Roberto, and Loris.
Then two clowns, Claudio and Clara, ran us through games. They made us laugh—and made some tourists from Latina who were camping nearby laugh too.
When the games ended (the Worms won!), we climbed back on the buses. We stopped in Tivoli and formed a line that stretched for kilometers. We walked through the town, with Settimio as our guide and Goffredo as our traffic officer.
It was now 6:30 p.m., and we were exhausted. Back on the buses for the quick ride home. By 8 p.m. sharp, we were back, greeted by two walls of dancing parents who'd been waiting for us.
That's the end of the season! One more outing to the beach is scheduled for the 19th—and this time, in a special exception, parents will be allowed to come.
Settimio, 1977