Near a large city, along a transit road, a decrepit old man was walking. His step was faltering: his thin legs could barely support him and they moved with difficulty, almost as if they weren't his; the dress he was wearing was all in tatters; his head, uncovered, fell on his chest... he was tired, exhausted. He sat on a milestone, resting his elbows on his knees, and hid his face in his hands; between his hidden fingers tears dripped onto the arid gray dust.
He remembered...
He remembered that he had once been healthy and wealthy; then he lost his health; he had lavished his wealth on everyone, friends and enemies... Now he didn't have a crust of bread, and everyone had abandoned him, friends even before enemies... Should he perhaps stoop even further to the point of asking for alms? His heart overflowed with bitterness and despair. And the tears flowed down him ceaselessly, staining the gray sand.
Suddenly he heard his name called; he raised his tired head and saw a stranger in front of him.
He had a calm and serious face, but not rigid; eyes not dazzling, but clear; the gaze penetrating, but not evil.
– You have lavished all your riches - he said in a uniform voice.
- But tell me, don't you now regret having done good?
– I don't regret it - replied the old man, sighing; - only, now, I die...
– If there had been no beggars in the world who had extended their hand to you - continued the stranger - how could you have demonstrated your beneficent soul with facts?
The old man replied nothing, and remained thoughtful.
– So don't be proud even now, poor man! - continued the stranger. - Seek, extend your hand, and you will thus give other good people the opportunity to demonstrate with facts that they are really good.
The old man started, raised his eyes... but the stranger had already disappeared. Far away, in the street, he saw a passer-by.
The old man moved towards him and held out his hand. The passerby turned around with a grim face and gave nothing. But after him came another, and this one gave the old man a little alms.
And the old man, with the coin he received, bought himself some bread, and that piece of bread, the fruit of alms, seemed sweet to him. Nor was he ashamed of himself; on the contrary: he felt a serene joy.
Ivan Turgenjev
Calendar
September
«For San Michele every rag tastes like honey»
In the month of September, and more precisely towards the end, the last fruit of the year reaches maturity, the sweetest one, such as white and black grapes, the different varieties of figs, pears, September peaches, etc. The melon season is coming to an end, with the exception of the winter ones, the nuts are reaching maturity, ready to be harvested by "beating". The seedbeds for cereals are prepared.
Vineyard. The sugar content of the grapes is checked using special instruments to establish when to start the harvest. All types of treatment are suspended. Orchard. Treatments with copper products are carried out for pear and apple trees affected by cankers, scab and leaf drop. The land for the new plants is being developed. The last apples and late pears are harvested.
Vegetable garden. Artichokes, cardoons, fennel and leeks are added. Shelters are prepared for protected crops and tunnels are prepared outdoors for sowing carrots, broad beans, beets, lettuces, radishes, spinach, rocket and lettuce. To encourage blanching, thistles, ribbed celery, endive etc. are tied.
Garden. Turf is sown in the previously prepared soil. At the end of the month, the planting of spring-flowering bulbous plants begins. The sweet pea is sown in the open ground on flat ground. Evergreen and deciduous hedges are pruned. The lavender is pruned and its flowering is finished in August.
Recipe
Ragù for the holy friar
Padre Pio's ragù was prepared by the convent doctor. The latter had asked the saint if he liked macaroni and, having received a positive response, he had run to the butcher and then to the kitchen to prepare them. He was stunned when the friar said: «This dish is too beautiful for me to eat it. Let's take it to the poor, go."
150 g of pork, 150 g of lamb, 150 g of beef, 150 g of sausage, 700 g. of tomato puree, 1 onion, 2 cloves of garlic, 1 chilli pepper, 1 bay leaf, 1 glass of red wine, extra virgin olive oil, salt.
Cut the meat and sausage into cubes of approximately 3-4 cm. In a terracotta pan, fry the sliced onion, garlic and whole chilli pepper in oil, add the meat and leave to brown over high heat for a few minutes. Season with salt, add the wine and, after eliminating the chilli pepper, add the sauce and the bay leaf. Cook for at least 3 hours over very low heat, stirring occasionally and adding a ladle of hot water if the sauce dries out too much.
Lifestyles
Against waste
Medicines The waste of medicines does not stop, on the contrary it increases. And this despite the crisis and the need to contain healthcare spending. The latest data comes from the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa): Italians, on average, consume two medicines each per day.
With overall spending in 2015 amounting to 28,9 billion euros, an increase of 8,6 percent compared to the previous year. Every year we throw away, on average, a kilo of medicines. Intact packages, purchased with compulsion and ended up in cabinets until expiration: 40 percent.
Very often we self-prescribe drugs, even where doctors' authorization is indispensable, and we self-suspend them, autonomously: it is estimated that out of 16 million hypertensives only half accept treatment for the necessary period (usually very long), while the other 8 million take them for two-three months and then throw them away.
The pills we waste the most are antibiotics, followed by analgesics, syrups, drugs for hypertension and heart failure, antiplatelets and anticoagulants. All expensive medicines.
