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rinueCiro is in Italy another two weeks; his father's funeral was yesterday and I haven't heard from him since beforehand. As expected; in the hours after you bury your father, I don't think your main impulse is to phone your wife in another country. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but that doesn't strike me as comforting. Seems to defeat the purpose of traveling to a funeral.
I'm mainly writing to check in, and to document that if the funeral alone wasn't dramatic enough, it has been further complicated:
1. Friday, shortly before Ciro's plane landed, cousin Mauro (who was to pick him up at the airport, I believe) was hit by a motorcycle. He's fine but bedridden for the next month. Which is particularly inconvenient because Mauro is the family's lawyer and the person who knows what needs to be done with Tommaso's assets.
2. Sunday, Visa called to say they'd frozen our cards and are sending new ones; someone in Delaware made fraudulent cards (physical cards! As though we're in the 1800s!*) with magnetic strips and everything. And used them at a tobacconist (a tobacconist! As though we're in the 1400s!) in, as stated, Delaware (the first state! As though we're in 1200 B.C.!) Since Ciro is in Italy, it will take until this Friday for him to get a replacement. Having a freeze put on your most widely accepted, internationally recognized credit card is of course very helpful when you are paying out of pocket for a funeral abroad.
Edited to Add: Funeral was in fact today. Ciro just called. Adds that the local mafia keeps trying to sell him crack at discount rates to show their sympathy.
* Before you say anything about when credit cards were invented, think about whether I might already know. Continue to consider this as I mention other dates later in the paragraph.
I'm mainly writing to check in, and to document that if the funeral alone wasn't dramatic enough, it has been further complicated:
1. Friday, shortly before Ciro's plane landed, cousin Mauro (who was to pick him up at the airport, I believe) was hit by a motorcycle. He's fine but bedridden for the next month. Which is particularly inconvenient because Mauro is the family's lawyer and the person who knows what needs to be done with Tommaso's assets.
2. Sunday, Visa called to say they'd frozen our cards and are sending new ones; someone in Delaware made fraudulent cards (physical cards! As though we're in the 1800s!*) with magnetic strips and everything. And used them at a tobacconist (a tobacconist! As though we're in the 1400s!) in, as stated, Delaware (the first state! As though we're in 1200 B.C.!) Since Ciro is in Italy, it will take until this Friday for him to get a replacement. Having a freeze put on your most widely accepted, internationally recognized credit card is of course very helpful when you are paying out of pocket for a funeral abroad.
Edited to Add: Funeral was in fact today. Ciro just called. Adds that the local mafia keeps trying to sell him crack at discount rates to show their sympathy.
* Before you say anything about when credit cards were invented, think about whether I might already know. Continue to consider this as I mention other dates later in the paragraph.
