U carruzzinu
Near the house of my family, neighborhood "furnace", lived Ninu Ustinu. Which, in fact, his name was Antonino Spadaro, but as always in the countries, was better known by the nickname. As someone whose name was Augustine in his ancestry ("ustinu" in dialect), the family became "the ustini", ie the descendants of Augustine. I remember that physically he was a man of medium height, rather robust, with a crew cut. He wore trousers out of fashion, without the strips of cloth (looping) which serve to put the belt back with a martingale, which served to tighten the pants and a life belt that crossed in front and squeezed. He had a special walk with legs apart and threw the feet, usually shod in a pair of sandals, to the outside line of the walkway, so it seemed that beat from side to side. Were of a very kind and generous, but had a great curiosity and stopped just saw two people arguing with each other to hear what they said, not forgetting to speak in the debate even though his opinion was not required. Indeed, just when the two people trying not to make them understand the topic of discussion, he became even more curious and began to ask: "Eh, who were parrannu, Eh?".
Before the campaigns were motorized bikes with ape, to bring the products of the land market, the carts were used. Raise his children, he thought of sending the major (Peppe) to market to sell their products and get so little gain some more. Since the carts were no longer being built, you find some second-hand, but not having found it, fell back on a horse-drawn carriage (carruzzino), partly because there were not many products that had to take to market. He bought a mule, and so the son started, early in the morning, to attend the markets Milazzo neighbors and Barcelona.
Sometimes, on holidays, the boys of the neighborhood and met with Pepper or Peter's other son, who was driving the buggy, went down to the beach. The cost of the improvised taxi was limited to a ration of fodder for the mule, Dividends from among the three or four guys who benefited from the horse-drawn carriage ride.
Slowly but times changed and also Ninu Ustinu converted to the internal combustion engine and bought the bike bee sold the mule and put the carriage in a clearing where he remained for many years. And there would always remain to some young people if it had not occurred to him to take a ride through the streets of the country.
few years later, in fact, a group of young bontemponi composed of Barbaro Previte (Barbarino the bus driver) Peter Colosi "U chestnut" (for his father's red hair), I'll be Salvatorello and others, while a night wandering the streets of the country, noticed the buggy parked in the forecourt of the house Ustinu. They looked at each other and had a hunch: we had him back to life and take a trip! One started in place of the mule and the other to push it back up to take him to Chiano Jnnaro (now Piazza course). There came the lean against the wall of the house of John Polito, said Mafara (ie "mafia" for his record of youth rather turbolenti), vi apposero un cartello con scritto “si vende” ed andarono via. Occorre sapere che tra il Giovanni Polito e Antonino Spadaro non correva buon sangue, infatti i due per motivi poco noti avevano avuto in passato qualche screzio e pertanto non si rivolgevano la parola.
L’indomani mattino, appena sveglio, il Polito si avvide del calesse e chiese notizie su chi fosse il proprietario e perché l’avesse appoggiato al muro della sua casa. Appena conosciutone il nome cominciò a gridare: “ma come si permette stu cristiano di mettere cà u so carruzzinu, picchì non su metti a so casa, picchì non su leva”. Qualcuno riferì subito la faccenda a Ninu Ustinu che assieme al figlio Pietro, immediately went to take the gig for riportarselo home. Of course, all under the gaze of Polito, who continued its improper. I arrived home very angry, and for the effort, as a driver of the carriage, while his son Peter served as the engine pushing from behind, both for the humiliation inflicted by Polito, put in place the trap. But to be sure that the fact is not repeated, thought it well to remove the wheels and keep them in a warehouse. "Videmu now able sunnu portunu me up," said Ninu very angry and with the approval of the family in the meantime raccoltesi around.
The following Sunday, leaving the Mother Church, after the first Messa (sei e mezzo del mattino), seguendo lo sguardo dei curiosi vide il suo calesse appoggiato al muro della chiesa con un cartello: ”Per mancanza di compratore si cambia piazza, si vende”. La gente cominciò a fermarsi e a sorridere facendo dei commenti piuttosto ironici. Il povero Ninu non sapeva come reagire. Essendo il calesse senza ruote non poteva da solo muoverlo, anche se sicuramente in cuor suo, sarebbe stato desideroso di metterselo sulle spalle e portarselo via, pur di interrompere i commenti ed i sorrisi. Poteva semplicemente imprecare: “malanova mi hanno”. Dopo un poco si avvicinò Battista Aloi “u ferraru” (il fabbro) e gli chiese se voleva vendere il calesse, perchè lui, come fabbro, avrebbe the metal used to forge horseshoes. After a short negotiation, and so the owner changed the buggy Ninu Ustinu he returned safely to his home. He thought it was all finally over and that he would never have heard of the gig. Instead a few nights after she heard a knock at his door, looked out from the balcony, asking who he was and heard a voice coming from a group of young people: "those who Semu chiddi ficiru vinniri u carruzzinu and vulemu to sinsalia" (we are the ones you have done sell the gig and we want the commission). Curses and threats at Ninu Ustinu young people went off laughing and saying "that Viditi ricuniscenza, mancu to sinsalia ni dari flights, but nui annamu and then the Huns avvucatu videmu "(CEH Gurd gratitude, not even the commission wants to give us, but we're Advocate and then we'll see).
Thus ended the story of a gig in San Pier Niceto
Nino Micale
