Venezia – Searching for Goldoni

by midgeguerrera, posted in Stops Along the Journey - Sites Off the Tourist Track

Thousands of tales have been told, books written, pictures painted and yet there is always something new to explore in Venezia –  that grand dame of a city. Me?  What did I explore?  Well, I didn’t go to the tourist packed spots like a normal person.  No, with my iPhone in my face I went back and forth across the Rialto Bridge and the same canal about thirty times – searching for Carlo Goldoni.  Not some distant relative – not some gorgeous hunk of Italian charm – but a dead white male playwright.  This Venetian was writing plays in the mid to late 1700s, so I know I couldn’t really find him.  I just wanted to sense him.  Before I talk about the search, let me remind you a little bit about visiting Venice.

We took the train to the main station, Santa Lucia.  Walking out the front door we were immediately impressed by the great view of the Grand Canal –

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– and then turned into blathering idiots as we watched the swirl of tourists bumping into each other. Our first challenge was figuring out mass transit.  Realizing that since one way tickets on the vaporetti cost €7.50 and we would undoubtably go more than one way a day we bought the €20 a day package for three days.  At the ticket booth, when I asked for a map of the lines I was told I had to buy a map of Venice.  Ten minutes in Venice and we spent €123.  The map by the way is useless. Do not bother buying it.  It is impossible for the eyes of anyone but a 5 year old to read.  We got a better map of the Vaporetti at our hotel. Venezia Transit is the transportation web-site and one can read it in English.

Venice is an expensive trip.  A cappuccino averages €5 – compare that to .90 in Pontelandolfo!

Who cares!  I want to hang out where Carlo hung out.  Of course since he died in 1793 I may not find the same bar he sipped an apertivo in but I can pretend.  Oh, you’re asking – who the hell is Carlo Goldoni?  YOU DON’T KNOW???

Comedia dell’ arte – you have heard of that – Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx certainly did.  Commedia dell’arte started in Venice sometime in the 1600s. It was a popular form of street theatre – improvised scenarios between stock characters based on universal types of masters, servants and lovers – think cuckold husband, cheating wife etc.  Actors wore masks and performed “Lazzi” – signature gags and stunts.  Slapstick schtick!

Allegedly, regular comedy in Italy was apparently about to “flat line” when  Carlo Goldoni (1707-1793) leaped in with a defibrillator. My man Goldoni laid siege to the conventions of stock characters, improvised performances and the use of masks. Tsk Tsk. This did create a problem early in his career. Masked parts could be played by lousy actors. He had a problem finding actors who could act. At this point in theatre history the Italian playwright had to think more of working with his stable of actors than his public.

This Venetian began his career by writing opera librettos. Gaining in experience and in technical skill, he cautiously attempted to replace the base and (oh my) pornographic Comedia dell’arte with plays of innocent action that told the stories of contemporary events and characters. One hundred and sixty comedies remain – I haven’t read that many.  But I have read a lot – and surprisingly grasped the Italian. Some are written in the Venetian dialect – no way could I read those. He is said to have written as many as sixteen plays in one year.  See why I love him?  He’s an inspiration – I can only write one a year and then I can’t sell the bloody thing. His theatrical invention was remarkably fertile. Imagine – he believed that comedy could be drawn from an understanding of human emotions. He was not only profound, but according to those who knew him – I read all this stuff because except in dreams I never met him but loved the plays – he was charming, witty, true to nature, with buoyant spirits and an inexhaustible humor. Some folks – not just any folks but Voltaire – thought that Goldoni was the Italian Moliere!  He released “Italian theatre from the bondage of the artificial and pantomime performances – Commedia dell Arte – and laid the foundations of the drama as it is understood in our days.  Who doesn’t love him?!  

Back to my quest – I got excited by the pictures I found on line.

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Il Teatro Goldoni is located in one of the older sections of Venezia.  Not only did the web-site excite me but there were posters around town about a performance of Goldoni’s work!!!!  I wanted tickets!  I wanted to tour the theater!  I love this playwright and have enjoyed reading his work.  I want to walk where he walked!  I put the address in the map app on my phone.  We took the vaporetti to the closest stop.  We walked and walked and asked and asked but couldn’t find it.  We crossed the same canal a pazillion times looking for it. I am quite sure with all that walking that I must have stepped on one cobblestone that Goldoni stepped on.  Not wanting to give up, I went into a small restaurant on a back alley and asked one more time – the waitress said the theater was just around the corner.  We asked her to save us a table out in the alley and we sprinted around the corner – wait – what corner – we tried corner after corner.

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I found this little street -maybe he used to hang out on the corner with his buddies.

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Look – Hotel A La Commedia!  We must be close to becoming one with the spirit of Golden.  BASTA!!! ENOUGH! Downtrodden we just went back and had not only a fabulous meal but lived a Goldoni scene.

An old woman looked down on us from a balcony and began to talk to us.  My Italian can get us food and a hotel but normally isn’t enough to hold a conversation of intricate detail.  Channeling Goldoni, the dialogue poured out of my mouth. The old woman guffawed as I regaled her with the tales of my quest.  She told me I needed to go to his house – Goldoni’s house?  Yes, it is now a museum!

Carlo Godoni’s House Museum, the Casa di Carlo Goldoni, only costs €5 and is located at San Polo 2794, 30125 Venezia. I didn’t find that either …

Ci Vediamo.

Dramma Sacro Di Santa Giocondina

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Need an excuse to come to Southern Italy?  Here is a great one – a production of the story of Santa Giocondina.  The play is produced every four years – so if you miss it there is a long wait to see it again.  Every four years, residents of Pontelandolfo come together to share the story of this Christian martyr.  The catalyst for the production is a relic of the Saint that the parish is privileged to own .  It is a huge undertaking!  The cast of twenty six plus people rehearse two nights a week for months in the village’s theatre.  Elaborate costumes are made.  Sets are built and the community gathers to see the life and torture of the Saint.  This year Gabriele Palladino,  the artistic director is putting the cast through their paces.

Rehearsal

I snuck into a rehearsal and was impressed with the caliber of actors I saw on the stage.  They were in the moment, took the roles seriously and we’re obviously committed to bringing realism to the stage.  When I mentioned that to Jack he reminded me where I had been a few weeks ago and why the actors were comfortable on the stage.  You might remember, I went to the Scuola dell Infanzia to see an end of year production called “Paese Mio Che  Stai  Sulla Collina.”   In case you missed the story –  5 Year Old Actors Rock The Stage. The ritual of performing is ongoing throughout all grades.  As are class trips not to theme parks but to wonders of art and architecture.  Residents as young as three years old perform with the folklorico dance company – Ri Ualanegli Di Pontelandolfo.   The arts are a part of life in Pontelandolfo.  (Hmm – maybe that explains my families artistic bent.)

During the rehearsal, I heard actors question Gabriele about their motivation.  Gabriele gently led the actors down the path to the through line of the story.  The narrative places in context the antithesis between good and evil – salvation and damnation. I witnessed characters growing under his guidance.  The cast includes a cross section of the community and all take their roles seriously.  Become their FaceBook pal and see more pictures.

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Eleonora Guerrera (I don’t think we are related) is doing a stellar job portraying Giocondina the tortured Saint.  I asked her how she felt about creating the character –

Quando mi è stato chiesto di recitare nel dramma sacro di Santa Giocondina come protagonista, è stato per me un grande onore accettare la parte, nonostante i miei tentennamenti!! Il gruppo che si è creato è molto affiatato, come una famiglia; lo svolgimento delle prove una boccata d’ossigeno; far parte di un gruppo come questo può solo farmi crescere. Sono felice dell’esperienza che sto vivendo e ringrazio Gabriele Palladino per la fiducia riposta in me e per aver tirato fuori qualcosa che non ero al corrente di avere!

When I was asked to perform the sacred drama of Santa Giocondina as the protagonist, despite my hesitation, it was a great honor to accept the part!!
The group of performers that has been created is very close-knit, like a family. The development of the work as been a breath of fresh air for me. Being part of a group like this can only make me grow as performer. I’m happy that I’m living the experience and thank Gabriele Palladino for the confidence placed in me and for having pulled out something in me that I was not aware of having!

Costumes

The 2016 production features Eleonara Guerrera,  Paolo Tranchini, Michela Delli Veneri, Gianmarco Castaldi, Antonio Addona, Giovanni romano, Gennaro Del Negro, Salvatore Griffini, Davide Cocciolillo and Antonio Silvestre.  Angels are played by Serena Romano, Paula Corbo and Margherita Sforza.  There are countless others in the cast in supporting roles.  The assistant directors is Dolores Del Negro. Director, Gabriele Palladino wrote an article on the back story for Pontelandolfo News – which can be read in English.

The production is slated for the end of July – just before the week long festa of San Salvatore.  Buy that plane ticket and come visit Pontelandolfo in time to see the Dramma Sacro Di Santa Giocondina!

Ci Vediamo.

Bravi! 5 Year Old Actors Rock the Stage

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

Today, I saw a production that had me laughing, literally crying, rocking, smiling and cheering.  I wasn’t anywhere near Broadway or even Rome.  I was in the charming little theatre space below the new church – L’Auditorium Parrocchiale S. Giuseppe Moscati in Pontelandolfo (BN).  Those of you who know me – or worse yet – have gone to the theatre with me know that I have the attention span of a gnat and am critical of anything that doesn’t flow.  Today, my attention was held from the moment I entered the theater.

This morning, however, having been to numerous badly done school plays, overly long boring dance recitals I was not looking forward to the show. “Do I have to go?  Yes, you have to go. You said you would go.  But a preschool and kindergarten play… ”  Putting on my big girl pants I went.    Going down the steps to the theatre, rock and roll children’s music had me energized – wait a minute – a teacher thought to use pre-show music to set the tone!  Right on!  The teachers of the Scuola dell’Infanzia di Pontelandolfo have theater in their bones.  The show, Paese Mio Che Stai Sulla Collina (My Town on the Hill), had all the trappings of really good children’s theater.  Unlike other school events I have seen here, this was a well scripted production.  It dealt with the immigration of Pontelandolfese to America and the traditions they took and those they left behind. The teachers knew how to use the children’s strengths and weaknesses to the best advantage of the overall production.

Now you know that every little 4, 5 & maybe 6 year old waiting backstage was dying to know if their family was there.  They were probably jigging and wiggling with anticipation.  The creative teachers used that wiggle jiggle!  The reason for the pre-show rock and roll was not only to energize the crowd but to give every little actor a chance to check out the crowd.  A little face would appear in the crack in the curtain – the first time it happened I thought “Oh, Oh, that kid is in trouble.”  Then the curtain opened just enough for the little tyke to prance and dance for 20 seconds while his/her relatives cheered.  That hip hopper left and seconds later a different face appeared, looked and danced.  This pre-show was brilliant for the mini actors and the worried parents.  Everybody got to check out everybody else.

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The set was painted by a teacher.  Center stage is the village’s iconic tower and fountain.  The wings on either side represented places that the immigrants travelled to.  (There will not be any pictures of children.  Without a signed release from a parent that would be a yucky no, no.)

What amazed me, is that this is a public nursery, pre-K, K school and the actors memorized lines in Italian, English and the Pontelandolfo Dialect.  Was the English pronunciation perfect – no – did they try their damnedest – yes.  My niece and nephew went to a Waldorf school and children there leaned how to memorize.  This old school method really works and public schools in the USA should think about it.   The show ran about 45 minutes and the dialogue and singing was well disbursed among the 15 or so 5/6 year old actors. The pre-school children were in dances and songs – including the finale sung in English. Again, the teachers worked with the children’s strengths and understood how to capitalize on those strengths.

Traditional dances and songs were woven into the storyline.  Having seen the town’s dance company perform, I knew that the dances had been simplified – again a move by a good arts teacher. There was some side-coaching but generally the production ran smoothly. (No little people stood there frozen in fear scrunching up their skirts.)

The scene that had me rolling on the floor took place in Waterbury, Connecticut.  The immigrants, now living in an American city, were sitting around the breakfast table in robes, curlers and slippers talking about how great the USA was – mostly in English.  Suddenly, they got the itch to travel back to Pontelandolfo and visit.  With a quick change they appeared in Pontelandolfo in sun glasses, shorts, cameras dangling and hoisting suitcases.  They were greeted by locals and stood there looking stunned.  A look I have seen on Pontelandolfese who return to Pontelandolfo speaking the ancient Italian dialect of their grandparents – a dialect that has evolved.  Today, most people speak Italian.

I do not know the names of the faculty.  They all should be commended!  The arts galvanize and unite a community.  Good teachers of the arts give children a gift of a lifetime.  The confidence that has been imbued in these little actors and the visible lack of fear of performing is a gift that will keep on giving throughout their lives.

Ci Vediamo.

Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo a HIT!!!!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo, Food - Eating In and Out!

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Mary, Leona, Ellie, Lynn, Dana, Flora, Charleen and Nancy
Cook in the Kitchen’s of Pontelandolfo!

WOW what a jam packed week of great food, incredible women and a village that opened its hearts and buildings to embrace the Americans who came to Cook in the Kitchen’s of Pontelandolfo! The families that opened their kitchens loved the experience so much that we are going to offer the program again this September.

I had this fantasy that every night I would regale you with the tales of what happened that day.  Who the women were, what we learned how to cook, what we ate, what, what, what….  Sigh…. I tried, I really did but at the end of the day all I could do was crawl into bed and get ready for the next day’s adventure.  Oooo – how could you think I didn’t try – look here is a couple of paragraphs on Day 1!

Le Donne Vengono Oggi

Hotel ready – check!  Wait – will they be hungry?
Rosella remembered that if people were coming at 1:00 PM they would need lunch. We raced to Il Forno and bought panini and cookies. Then on to the fruit and vegetable truck for tons of fresh fruit. Then on to the the Mini Market for water, plates and napkins. Then on to the B&B – for – for – Waiting.  We set up our welcome table and our swag bags and waited.  The five women from Rome didn’t get here when we thought they would. Jack and one of our translators, Annarita were sitting in front of Bar Elimar to flag them down. I was afraid they would be drunk by the time the women came.  Rats – it is 2:00 PM – where are they?   2:10 – Jack called – they are here!

What a great group of women! An extended family full of love, laughter and spark. We got folks settled in their rooms making sure that Mary – the groups catalyst – had a great room with the mountain view. Within minutes she had posted the view on Facebook. Yes!


Nicola had taken our slick 9 passenger Ducati Fiat plumino to Benevento. He was waiting for the two women from Milan via Naples. My stomach was in knots hoping that they made their connection in Naples – I’m guessing since they only had 20 minutes that their stomachs were in knots too. Rossella was calm. I was pretending to be calm. Finally, I got a text. They are here! Then I got a call – we are in a bar waiting for the passenger from Firenze via Rome.

Meanwhile, I did my dancing bear act and reviewed the agenda with the first group – encouraged them to eat the fruit, cookies and sandwiches – even though they had stopped on the highway. Rosella said I was very professional!

That is all I wrote in 16 days!  Me who is the blabber blogger only wrote a measly few words.  What I did do was shoot lots of video on my fancy HD video camera, scribbled frantic notes during every cooking lesson and made sure that the eight adventurous American women who wanted to live the life of a small Southern Italian village had a great time.  I promise that recipes will be posted, videos will be edited and you will all know more about this glorious week.  Here is a quick little video that highlights our wonderful First – Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo week. (There is more to read after the video.)    Click Here For Video

Stolen from the Pontelandolfo News who stole them from Facebook – are what some of the women said about the experience –

Dana got an “A” for best sausage making! We started out with a side of pork and culminated into a delicious meal!! Grazie Mille Franco and Maria for opening your home and hearts to us.

I am in awe learning how to roll dough for pasta. No words needed. Grazie Maria!

Each day our hearts are filled with the love of the women of Pontelandolfo. Today, group A spent the day with Carmela Fusco, who we knew we loved before we met her, because her daughters have been helping us all week. We made homemade cavatelli with a meat sauce, eggplant with fresh tomatoes, fruit salad and a beautiful nutella pastry! 

Today we made pizza in the brick oven with Nicola and tiramisu. He is a very special man and made our last day a perfect one. I think we were all a little tired today, but we still ended on a high note at his beautiful home. Grazie Mille Nicola!

Tonight we must say goodbye to all the wonderful people we’ve met.
Midge Guerrera has given us the opportunity to become a part of the beautiful town of Pontelandolfo for a week and we are forever grateful.

It has been an amazing week and anyone who has been following us should seriously consider coming when Midge offers this again. The village has embraced us with open arms and lots of fun.

Now, how could I not announce right here for the very first time – the Second Cooking in the Kitchens of Pontelandolfo adventure will be September 3 – 10 2016!  This fall – imagine Labor Day Weekend here in Pontelandolfo!  For information leave a comment.

Ci vediamo!


Second Act Tale 

by midgeguerrera, posted in Any Day in Pontelandolfo

When I announced that no one could use the word retired or in pensione around me – I was in my second act – ask how the second act is going – a few eyebrows were raised and I heard a few snickers.  I love this second act idea – it is perfect for me since the characters in my life – personaggi – are straight out of the Comedia dell arte. Stock characters who keep me on my toes and improvising. In small towns like the one I grew up in, Flagtown, NJ, and the one I live in now, Pontelandolfo (BN), if you fall down some one is there to pick you up. If you think about getting married 42 people call you to talk you into or out of it.  No monologues allowed – shove that soliloquy.  Acting is reacting and in small towns you react a lot.

 May 14th was my birthday – il mio compleanno! Sixty-seven years older and bolder.  That morning, the cast of characters that often upstage me riffed off the birthday theme, forcing me out of the Diva role into the role of the straight man.  When I came down the stairs my dining room was draped with crepe paper chains.  The ever creative Nichola had dressed the set! Besides the crepe paper chains, the living room and dining room were festooned with flowers. 

Fit for a Diva’s Dressing Room!

 Quick a  line – questo è un funebre? No, Midge tu non sei morta – solo vecchia!   Ouch, what a quick comeback –  I’m not dead only old – gulp.  The three dozen plus roses and buckets of flowers were the set decorations for la festa!  Thank you Janet for sending a bouquet across the sea – how do they stay alive during that 8 hour flight?  Thank you Nella, Fabio,Cosimo and Michele for the hot colors.  Thank you Zia Vitoria for the wine and cheese.  And thank you Nicola for scurrying around with Jack and dressing the set, long before the Diva took the eye pads off and stared at her gorgeous morning face in the mirror.


 No BORING dinner party for me.  Or worse cocktails and idle chatter.  No, at 9:30 AM the supporting cast arrived for La Festa delle Sfogliatelle. I am another year bolder!!  It is my birthday and I can eat what I want to!  I could also have my handsome houseman – Jack – ply the guests with peach bellinis.  After four of them I stopped looking for my light – where ever I was the light was shining.  Then I noticed that the supporting cast had more lines than I did.  Did they forget – I am the star of this here show?  Remember acting is reacting, it was time for them to stop reacting to me and for me to do a little reacting myself.

That reaction is a great outpouring of love for my family here and my family in the USA. Zia Giusipina on the way out the door had the best exit line.   (Spoken in dialect it sounds so passionate.)

Your heart is young and gentle. Your blood is Italian – my blood is the same.  We are Guerreras – all strong women.  Live life now and happily.   Go with love.

One tear rolls down my face. 

                                 -Fine –

Scarola!  Cardio! Cicoria! Yummy!

by midgeguerrera, posted in Food - Eating In and Out!

The yard outside our house was lush with miniature daisies, butter cups and enough edible greens to keep a large family happy for weeks.  Zia Vittoria stopped me as I hung out the laundry and wanted to know when Jack was going to cut the grass.  Since it was the first sunny day in a long week of grey, I guessed today!  About and hour later, Zia Vittoria appeared at my door with a huge cardboard box filled with greens – complete with globs of dirt on the roots.  Midgie – cucini oggi!  Che fa, I thought, not today, I have a bunch of stuff to do today.  I don’t want to clean stinking greens today.  Did I say that?  No, my mommy taught me better. I said thank you, pulled a chair out side, grabbed a knife, a large bowl  and started cutting off root balls.

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Truth – I didn’t have a clue as to what I was cleaning.  Somethings looked like the dandelions of my youths.  With my grandmother we would forage the lawns and fields around the house for dandelions.  Dandelions were a staple, made into salad, sautéed with onions and even made into an evil tasting wine.  Other greens looked like some kind of lettuce and just plain weeds.

Luckily, Nella, the local florist appeared.  I asked her what I was cutting and if we could really eat it all.   She looked at me like I was insanely stupid and said yes.  Then she patiently pointed out the scarola (endive family), cardio (cardoon – which I never heard of in English) and cicoria (chicory).  All edible, all rich in healthy minerals and vitamins.  Now I had no choice but to stop complaining about all the work I wasn’t getting too and become one with the harvest from the lawn.  OHMMMMMMM or is that LAAAAAWWWWN?

As I was shaking off the dirt, I remembered a young obnoxious mom who yelled at me years ago for telling her pre-schooler you could eat dandelions.  I had been picking the young greens out of our front lawn – now lawn is a misnomer.  It was a field of green stuff.  Lawn seeds, fertilizer – all that suburban anal lawn stuff – never made to my family’s Flagtown home.  For generations the green stuff was cut – whatever it was.  Anyway, this cute little tyke asked me what I was doing.  When I told her and she asked me why. I told her we eat the dandelions in salad.  I thought her mother was going to have a heart attack – or kill me. She told her daughter it was a lie and then told me that if her daughter got sick from eating the greens from her lawn it was my fault.  I calmly asked her why she put  murderous chemicals on her lawn?  What kind of mother lets her kids and dogs frolic on fields of chemicals?

Back to my more recent greens.  The greens reminded me of my grandmother, the family subsistence farm and my own roots.  Suddenly, the challenge of making something wonderful from the greens became the day’s calling.  First step – triple wash them.  I filled the sink with cold water and dumped the greens in.  Then I slowly stirred and picked out sticks, dead leaves and little critters.  Next the scolamacorone and a draining.  I cleaned the mud out of the deep sink and filled it with fresh water.  I broke up the leaves and tossed the hard veins before I put the greens in bath number two.  Muddy water swirled about the mixed greens.  Drain and rewash – cripes triple wash isn’t going to do it.  Five baths later, the water ran clean and all bugs were swimming down the drain.

Jack looked at the mountain of greens and remarked there were only two of us.  Great we will eat them today, tomorrow and the next day.  Day 1 the simple recipe.  Fry up a ton of cubed pancetta and onions, toss in ripped green blend, put on a lid and watch it shrink.  Quick toss, a hint of red pepper flakes and a healthy lunch is done.

Day 2 the still simple recipe. The next morning I partially cooked the dried white beans that I had left soaking the night before. A quick trip to Marcelleria Perugini yielded fresh sausage  and his incredible dried spicy sausages.  This greens, beans and sausage soup was equally easy to toss together.  All good things begin with thick slices of garlic, onions and fresh sausage sautéed.  Next came a pitcher full of water – and I hate to admit this but I love these – two porcini mushroom cubes.  We tossed in local mushrooms sliced and diced.  Next greens and beans entered the pot.  Simmer until hungry.

Grazie mille Zia Vittoria for the greens.  Grazie mille nonna for teaching us to forage for food and not put creepy chemicals anywhere on our property.

Ci Vediamo!

Apology Blog for Bad Spelling

by midgeguerrera, posted in Uncategorized

So sorry!  Through the errors of thinking that all my devices worked seamlessly with each other – I sent the blog “Vote Early” from my iPad.  It was an older un-edited version.  ERRRGGGGGG!  Those of you who think I can’t spell voting – and worse – couldn’t see the red line underneath it.  I am sorry for causing you pain.  Just know – it caused me even greater pain.

Midge

I Voted Early – NJ Primary From Italy

by midgeguerrera, posted in Practical Matters - Living Abroad

I loved the age old mantra – heartening back to Tammany Hall I think – or was it a “Chicago- style politics” slogan – “Vote Early and Often!” Using the Federal Voting Assistance Program, Jack and I voted on April 22nd for the June 7,2016  Presidential Primary.  Now that is early!  Don’t be silly! I’m a Rooseveltian Democrat I didn’t vote in the Republican Primary.   Earlier, I had posted that Jack and I had initiated the process before we left New Jersey. Here is how it worked.

It is really simple.  Go to the Federal Voting Assistance Program website.  Fill out the forms.  Print them, scan them and se-mail them to your local election official.  On the website they give you all the information you need.

The Fabulous Stephanie, Somerset County Clerk’s Principal Elections Clerk,  sent us PDF’s of a NJ Democratic Ballot, An Electronic Transmission Sheet, Waiver of Privacy and a cover page.  You need to know that if your vote electronically from abroad everyone knows how you vote – that is the waiver I had to sign.  Hell, I didn’t care.  I tell people anyway.  The Transmission sheet is like a FAX cover sheet that has been pre printed with my New Jersey and Italian information.  I printed it all out, marked my ballot, scanned the documents and e-mailed them back from whence they came.  What – the e-mail address bounced back!  I carefully typed the address from the original  Transmittal Cover Sheet again.  FxxxxxxxxnxxxA – Bing a bang it came back.  Damn, I am going to vote.   Using the number that was on the Transmittal Cover Sheet, I called the County Clerk’s Office – yes from Italy and got voice mail.  I left a smarmy message about calling from Italy, about voting and when would be a good time to call again and get a real person.  I left my Italian number knowing that no one would call me back.  What’s a determined Democrat to do?????

I looked at the original e-mail from Stephanie and noted her direct number.  I dialed, she answered and deserves a raise for dealing with me.  She was happy to hear that I got the ballot, sad to hear about my problem and then gently asked me where I had sent the ballot.  Why back to the County Clerk’s Office.  Midge, it goes to the Board of Elections – that address is on YOUR transmittal cover sheet – you used the address from our Transmittal sheet!!!!  ERggggggg.  All those lectures to my college students about reading every page of everything before you do anything came bounding back into my head.  Maybe the professor should do as she says!!!  We both laughed at my stupidity.  Sure enough the federalvoter@co.somerset.nj.us worked.

Then I read all the instructions and realized we might be in deep do do.  It says that you not only have to e-mail the PDF you have to snail mail it as well.  Now I have mailed birthday cards a month in advance from Pontelandolfo and they have gotten to the folks two years later.  My landlord sent me a Christmas Card in November and I got it at Easter.  The instructions said you had to airmail the packet immediately.  Oops.  Monday, April 25 was a national holiday in Italy.  Il Ufficio Postale will be closed.  We had processed the ballots on Friday night our time.  Ooooops.  Tuesday the 26th was the best we could do.

The post office here is the local bank, Bill paying station, and sells stuff.  There is always a line.  I brought a book, sat and waited my turn.  It is civilized. We do have seats.  I explained that I needed to send the documents rapidly.  What type of services did they have that would expedite an envelope to the USA.  The clerk didn’t have a clue.  She asked her boss. They waded through boxes and looked in files.  Now, I could send a box – but that seemed absurd with 6 pieces of paper.  Finally, since apparently airmail is a thing of the past – I mean all mail is airmail so why the hell is that on the instructions????  Hmm maybe they remember the slow boat to China???   It cost me 9.05 euro to send a quasi registered letter to the Somerset County Board of Elections.  I hope they get it.  I hope they get it this year.

Question.  If they do not receive the paper ballot do they disqualify my e-mail ballot?  On May 6th I sent them an e-mail asking them if they got the e-mailed ballot. The Board of Elections responded promptly – yes.  I didn’t ask if they needed to have my hard copy too.  Does my vote count without it??  I’m going to wait until the middle of May and call and find out.  It does say to “find out the status of your ballot contact your election official.”  I’ll keep you all in the loop.

Ex-Pat Pals – No Excuse –  Vote Early!

Ci Vediamo!!!