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Since I’ve been such a slacker and have not contributed to this blog until now, I have read through Joe’s postings and here is my input:
Being named Casale – Just two things to add here.
1. Every time I have written my name, there has been an Italian that has excitedly asked me if the name/my husband/the family is ITALIANO (picture me saying that word in a strong, heavy accent with big hand gestures). We then have a fantastic discussion about where Joe’s great-grandparents are from…and then wonderful things happen. The person asking me about my name is now my friend. They will buy me coffee or take me next in line, offer something better than what I currently have in some way, shape or form. And they are so happy to do it, all because my name is Casale.
2. Also, one note on the Casal d’Principa area that is off limits – there was also a story about how one or two Navy people that were renting homes in that area had their doors busted in during the middle of the night by the police. The reason had something to do with the “landlord”. It was shortly after that when the housing area relocated those military families to homes outside of the Casal d’Principa area - homes that had landlords outside of the Casale family.
Destroying my Knee Snowboarding – The most amazing part of this entire “torn knee” experience was taking a trip to the Italian hospital. I have heard some wonderful stories about socialized medicine – and I now think those people that told me those wonderful stories are CRAZY. Joe’s ambulance ride – seriously? No medical attention, just a “ride” in the back of a truck on a gurney that wasn’t even strapped down. So he was rolling around creating more trauma to his knee, which wasn’t even looked at. Not that when he got to the hospital it was looked at, not until he was there hanging out for hours. And don’t even think about picturing our bright, cheery, aseptic hospitals. Move your mind to a darker place, with dimly lit bulbs hanging from the ceiling, walls that have not been painted in 10 years, buckets of open bio-hazardous waste laying around with blood dripping out of them onto the floor (no, not kidding, not exaggerating). The “hospital” was awful and scary. So, um, yeah, I’m gonna to vote “NO” on socialized medicine.
Being named Casale – Just two things to add here.
1. Every time I have written my name, there has been an Italian that has excitedly asked me if the name/my husband/the family is ITALIANO (picture me saying that word in a strong, heavy accent with big hand gestures). We then have a fantastic discussion about where Joe’s great-grandparents are from…and then wonderful things happen. The person asking me about my name is now my friend. They will buy me coffee or take me next in line, offer something better than what I currently have in some way, shape or form. And they are so happy to do it, all because my name is Casale.
2. Also, one note on the Casal d’Principa area that is off limits – there was also a story about how one or two Navy people that were renting homes in that area had their doors busted in during the middle of the night by the police. The reason had something to do with the “landlord”. It was shortly after that when the housing area relocated those military families to homes outside of the Casal d’Principa area - homes that had landlords outside of the Casale family.
Destroying my Knee Snowboarding – The most amazing part of this entire “torn knee” experience was taking a trip to the Italian hospital. I have heard some wonderful stories about socialized medicine – and I now think those people that told me those wonderful stories are CRAZY. Joe’s ambulance ride – seriously? No medical attention, just a “ride” in the back of a truck on a gurney that wasn’t even strapped down. So he was rolling around creating more trauma to his knee, which wasn’t even looked at. Not that when he got to the hospital it was looked at, not until he was there hanging out for hours. And don’t even think about picturing our bright, cheery, aseptic hospitals. Move your mind to a darker place, with dimly lit bulbs hanging from the ceiling, walls that have not been painted in 10 years, buckets of open bio-hazardous waste laying around with blood dripping out of them onto the floor (no, not kidding, not exaggerating). The “hospital” was awful and scary. So, um, yeah, I’m gonna to vote “NO” on socialized medicine.
Glad you didn't get seriously injured. Sweet single bed you're sitting on in that photo! People in Italy must be skinny.
ReplyDeleteSo i'm gonna do my part for socialized medicine right here. I know you had a bad experience in the "ambulance", and the hospital sucked, and the wait sucked. But just because the health care system in Naples, and maybe all of Italy, isn't up to par, it doesn't mean we can't have good socialized medicine in the US. Almost 20% of Americans have no health insurance. That's crazy. And I think it needs to be fixed. So don't say no to some form of socialized medicine just yet.
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