Friday, February 8, 2008

World Neighbor Italian Style - The Venetian Vex


We traveled from Rome up to Venice on a tour bus with an interesting and diverse group of folks. One couple in particular was funny in a sad, tragic kind of way. Their names were Dave and Martha from Connecticut, USA. Dave was a sales executive at some large corporate joint. Martha was, as her name may suggest, a homemaker. I’m guessing they were in their mid 50’s and they were both very nice to chat with initially. We sat with them at dinner and it soon became clear that Mr. Dave was the ruler of the roost. He was very demeaning to his wife (and here we are on our honeymoon!). I remember one exchange that Mr. Dave and Martha had in particular about a dishwasher. Martha offered my new wife Demetria a helpful hint on getting some gunk off of a plate by using the dishwasher. Mr. Dave scolded her and let her know that us newlyweds probably didn’t have the high-end model dishwasher that they had so the suggestion was no good. Wow…slammed his wife and us all in one fell swoop!

I felt sort of sorry for Martha as she would just take Mr. Dave’s venom and move on to more “pleasant” discussion. She was clearly co-dependant and in need of a getting out of this life she had become accustomed to. I found it sad to think about the fact that there are probably so many dysfunctional marriages (and hence the high divorce rates). But at the same time it made me appreciate Demetria even more. Demetria isn’t having any of that nonsense! …On to the gondolas and St. Mark’s square to pay $25 US dollars for a cup of coffee!! (Seriously, do NOT order a cup of coffee in St. Mark’s square because they automatically tack on an “entertainment” fee onto your bill – even if the “entertainment” is on a “break”).


Come check out the WORLD NEIGHBOR STORE!

No comments: