Sunday, October 26
The day we'd all been waiting for! Armed with my best collaborative spirit and escorted by two young Jesuit novices—one from Madagascar, the other from Angola—plus a few young Roman friends, I arrived promptly at 8 a.m. at Tiburtina Station to greet our French pilgrims.
I'd been told: "Do whatever Mr. C. tells you"—our chief organizer.
The train pulled in, the friends descended, greetings all around, pilgrims sorted into their respective buses… everything went smoothly!
The buses departed and I approached the "big boss," who muttered under his breath: "I have a water problem!"
My French was poor. Not understanding a word of that cryptic remark, I answered eagerly: "I'll take care of it." (Little did I know what kind of water was about to land on me!!!)
"It's simple, really. You'll find mineral water in car 4, compartment 2. Unload it and take it to depot X. Same for the other trains arriving at Tiburtina and Ostiense. Thanks." Then he vanished. Of course—he had more important things to handle.
From 8:30 until 1 p.m. we unloaded hundreds of cases of the illustrious Evian water! Twenty-four bottles per case of premium mineral water!
By one o'clock the depot was full, everything in order, and I sat on the ground wiping sweat from my brow… (my usual work requires far less physical strength—I sit at a desk all day!!!). I wondered, bewildered, whether I'd somehow missed a section of the pilgrimage program:
Day X, Time Y: "All pilgrims are invited to Tiburtina Station for a friendly glass of water. Our French friends kindly offer refreshment"… (The water was actually for the return journey).
Enzo, 1975
The Film Shoot
Tuesday, October 28
St. Peter's Square at night was indescribable—lit up by powerful floodlights. Thousands of small flames flickering in the darkness created a haunting beauty. It was a wonderful sight for all of us, believers and others alike. Suddenly a woman called me over: her daughter wasn't feeling well. Nothing serious, but we needed to get her out of our tight group and to the first aid station…
I was heading back when, along Bernini's colonnade, some passing boys called out to me: "Hey chief! What film are they shooting?"
Ettore, 1975