Funeral procession

Taormina of Sicily is the most famous resort in southern Italy. The scenery is spectacular. You see the perfectly symmetrical figure of volcano, Mt. Etna. And you can also see a beautiful arc of coast line stretched far away to Catana city below your eyes.

I had been there for a couple of days. And one morning, I came out from a "pensione" to buy some "panini" for breakfast. I walked down the pavement of the main street. When I was passing the square, I saw two men were quarreling in front of the two cafes. They seemed to be the owner of each cafe. However to me, it's quite usual scene in Italy. I worried all panini would be gone if I waste time here. Breakfast was much bigger deal to me. So I kept walking to the bakery.
When I passed by them next was on the way back to the pensione. The quarrel was more heated up. But it's also typical progress in Italy.

In the afternoon, I was walking on the street. Far ahead of me, I saw the anger red faces again. They had argued for more than 3 hours.
Then I had a trekking to the neighbor village on the hill top, and returned Taormina around 3 o'clock.
I sat on the bench in the square, and glanced the street. I couldn't believe that. They were still quarreling hardly. "No, No, No, It's not like that.""No, You are completely wrong"They denied each other. What they are arguing about? Whatever it was, they had argued 7 hours. I could not say "it's normal"any more even in Italy.

However, the Italians were some warrior. At 9 o'clock in the evening. I was passing by there. Even famous resort, Taormina was small town. So I couldn't skip the street. "Oh my ..... The marathon quarrel was still going on. The tone was not reduced at all. Families, couples who's passing by and guests at the terrace of each cafe, the two men didn't care about them. They looked using their entire energy to argue down each other.

At the restaurant, I got to know the Japanese professor and had talked over the dinner so long. Past 11 o'clock, I nervously stepped up the stairs of square. My anxiety "If the argument would be still going on ..... " was turning into some expectation in mob spirit. "I wish for it to be going on"
In spite of my expectation, the two men was not there any more. After 12 hours argument, finally, they got to the agreement or one guy accept some fault? Maybe no.

As I know, their argument had a short break just once. It's the moment when a funeral procession was passing through the main street of Taormina. Flower wreath, father, hearse, under the insanity blue of Sicily, the procession was marching slowly and quietly toward the white cross on the top of the hill. And in front of the cafes which had bright afternoon light, the two men watched the line in a silence.

"This might be the thing that we called <Living in every single moment>" I thought.