From: Terry W. Colvin (fortean1@mindspring.com)
Date: Thu Mar 13 2003 - 10:36:36 MST
Amara Graps wrote:
> And you'll find that the further south you go, the less meaningful
> are the laws to people. (I keep hearing stories of the people in
> Napoli especially, who make a kind of game of defying laws.)
So true. Our assignment to Napoli (1977-80) was my/our best time for
personal growth in all my overseas assignments: Vietnam, Thailand, Italy,
and Panama. My recent three month stints as a 'steenkeen' contractor in
Kuwait and South Korea weren't really long enough to make useful comparisons.
Fake receipts for major purchases (furniture, art, etc.) to avoid paying
taxes were common. More than a game, almost an art form. Residence
exteriors determined the value, thus the tax. So the most ugly exteriors
often had the most beautiful interiors.
> The most important 'unit' to the Italian is the family. Then the
> local neighborhood, then the town, and that's where it stops. They
> don't have strong feelings of 'unity' for the nation.
Italian military consider an assignment more than an hour from their hometown
as a foreign duty assignment. Mario lived outside Roma and always turned up
his nose when chats turned to Napoli and Neapolitanos. His grandmother died
three times to facilitate his taking a day or two off from work. No Red Cross
verification existed to prove death or illness in the family so a report was
given to the local NATO liaison office.
Terry
-- Terry W. Colvin, Sierra Vista, Arizona (USA) < fortean1@mindspring.com > Alternate: < fortean1@msn.com > Home Page: < http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Stargate/8958/index.html > Sites: * Fortean Times * Mystic's Haven * TLCB * U.S. Message Text Formatting (USMTF) Program ------------ Member: Thailand-Laos-Cambodia Brotherhood (TLCB) Mailing List TLCB Web Site: < http://www.tlc-brotherhood.org >[Vietnam veterans, Allies, CIA/NSA, and "steenkeen" contractors are welcome.]
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