In '81 the decade that had begun in the wake of the student revolution of '68, the Russian invasion of Czechoslovakia and the suppressed cry for freedom of Dubcek, Svoboda and Jan Palach was coming to an end thanks also to Pope John Paul II with another cry of freedom from Solidarnoshc, Lec Walesa and the Polish People the year before.

In Moschiano we continued with the initiatives that we had started in previous years and which had now become a reality in the life of Moschiano and which everyone was waiting for on a regular basis. The 5th Torch of Faith took place. In August during the Moschianese Summer we staged “Figlia Mariterebbesi” by Prof. Anna Laura Palumbieri (aka “Donna Anna”) in the Piazza. This comedy was part of a series of works that Prof. Palumbieri had written many years before (we also remember “Pulcinella engaged in spite of himself”) and which had already been staged in the 1960s as one of the activities of the club Cultural mentioned above.
There was still the Chestnut Festival. I remember that while we were cooking the sweets to be distributed at the festival up at Marco's house, he and I had an argument to the point that Marco grabbed all the pots where we were preparing the sweets and rolled them down the corridor. Mrs. Giuseppina acted as peacemaker. The next day we were all in the square for the festival. Nothing had happened. As people who respected each other we knew that we could have differences but we also knew that for the good of everyone and of Moschiano we had to put our "ego" aside. So it was. Friends like and more than before. The young people of Capomoschiano had invented new games which they proposed during the second evening of the festival.
I also want to remember an episode in the youth center in the Parish in the Square. It was Holy Thursday and we had recently finished with the celebration of the Lord's Supper and the deposition in the Holy Sepulchre. Towards the end of the ceremony the electric organ broke. After the service while the traditional walk and "visit to the Tombs" was taking place outside, we (Lino, Gianni, Enzo, Sergio, myself and many others) were all gathered around the organ to see what could be done. By now we were almost all graduates and some had been working for years. Don Salvatore, as usual, encouraged us by making fun of us and saying that even with a degree in Physics, Engineering, Law, Medicine, etc. we didn't know how to fix a simple thing. We placed the organ on the floor. We turned it over and began opening it. Don Salvatore gave us the electrical diagram. We began to follow it step by step and check all the circuits. From time to time Donna Vincenza, Don Salvatore's mother (“The Lady”) appeared and asked if we had solved the problem. We continued for maybe about an hour. Eventually we came to a fuse that was clearly blown. Ha ha. We replaced it and voila the organ started working again. We were good to go for the Easter Vigil. Needless to say, Don Salvatore continued to tease us by saying that instead of wasting time with the circuit, looking at the fuse should be the first thing to do. He was right (as usual). But in that umpteenth "Caz@#$%^" we saw a certain sense of pride in his eyes. His boys had finally grown up and faced situations like "professionals". 

1982 came. The spring of our life was drawing to a close. In the square we continued with L'Estate Moschianese. On August 15th in Capomoschiano there was still the "Friendship Festival", but life as adults awaited us. That August 16th the Pan Am plane was already ready on the runway. After so many friends, America was waiting for me too. The time had come for us to go into the world to teach in turn what we had learned up to then without ever forgetting that in life there is always more to learn. The games this time would be real. Dreams and hopes, conquests and failures, "daring descents and ascents" would become daily realities. We felt ready. A few years later I would also involve Rosetta in this new adventure. She, as always, followed me everywhere. But the strength of the group did not stop. It continued for many more years (See photo in the Salone alla Carita' (1983)) and it still continues. New recruits joined. Let's leave it to them to remember. We stop here.

Don Salvatore, Don Peppino, Sister Pia, Mimi', Pietro, Lino, Marco, Rizziero (The “knight”), Mast'Aniello, Giovanni, Gietta, our parents and many other friends and family that I have mentioned or not in this story now lives only in our memory. The years have passed.

“Yesterday's kids have become today's grandparents”, but the spirit remains.

The torch has been passed to the new generations. Keep her alive. May it shine in the night. Especially the night of ignorance, of divisions, of "I don't care", of "nothing is ever done here". Be protagonists but don't get sick of protagonism. Remember that “Ideas are like stars, which cannot be extinguished by a storm”. Be curious. study, observe, analyse, learn, put into practice. But always with respect, positivity, love, faith.

Put yourself in the place of Our Lady of Charity for a moment and look at what she looks at from her throne. Beyond the wall, the open space, the trees, the mountains.

Distant. Beyond time and space.

There is a whole world that awaits us/you and needs us/you.

Put yourself  in game. Take risks. And above all, don't be afraid.  Never.

P.S. I want to thank all those who helped me reconstruct the events described and contributed with photos and other material, and all of you who had the patience to read this long diary.

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Carmine Manfredi

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