“You can be friends forever”

Lucio Battisti docet: “call them if you want emotions”. So many emotions were felt, so much emotion, the shivers in the back and the goosebumps that came when meeting again after just 46 years for a new appeal for the 5th class surveyors section A of the Lucca institute. Who would have thought, almost half a century has passed since that distant 1978, the last year we spent together. But everything seems crystallized at that time. It only took a few minutes after arriving at the established location that everyone’s mind immediately took a leap back in time, resurrecting and making all the dormant memories current. The atmosphere immediately changed, we immediately recognized each other. But it was really true, we were all together again, making a “return to the past” that was unthinkable until some time before. The memory of the time spent together came back alive, many positive moments and sometimes even negative ones were recalled with great detail that everyone had dormant in their minds; it was enough just to bring them back to the surface. Many kisses and hugs; someone, like the writer, is moved. Expressions in the name of that deep and true friendship that has characterized the school relationship for many years and which the time that has passed inexorably has not affected. In short, after a while we were back in class. With the usual jokes, the usual characters, each unique, unrepeatable and indispensable for the rest of the group. The usual teasing rained down in abundance associated with jokes and light-hearted pranks that we have carried in our hearts for all these years. With the awareness that these times would never return and the certainty that no one could take away the emotions we had felt and what we had experienced. Paraphrasing the well-known song in the plural: “let’s call them if we want emotions”. And we can undoubtedly talk about great emotions, finding ourselves all together again after just, so to speak, forty-six years. There were people who hadn’t seen or heard from each other since that distant 1978. Who better than the great singer-songwriter Lucio Battisti can represent, in his masterful song, the state of mind and emotions of each of us. Those, of course, of the 5th surveyors section A of Lucca. We have all changed and none of us, in reality, have changed. Read and interpreted carefully, the peculiarities of each one remain the same. Time can leave its traces but, in my opinion, they are always positive traces. After all, it took all these years to produce a few more wrinkles, it wasn’t a small job. All in all, perhaps something had changed, but nothing had changed in our memory, we just needed to reawaken it. And so it was, throughout the evening. Social media, diabolical inventions not present in our times, often criticized for improper use, have in this case made it possible, thanks to a dense tom tam of contacts and messages, to prepare the great “class reunion”, naturally with the relative appeal with dinner and final cake, coffee, coffee killer and so on and so forth. An ideal location was suggested by our classmate who later became a Don. Appointment scheduled for Friday 14 June at 8pm at the Katia antipasteria restaurant – Montebello, Camaiore. A relatively long journey for some, closer for others, but no one wanted to give up being present at the roll call. On the other hand, the justification booklet had expired for everyone that day. Some, to tell the truth, were unable to do so but managed to follow the evening on social media, waiting for a new opportunity to meet. The hills of Camaiore awaited us. Various appointments in the most unexpected places to fill the cars and go for a stretch of the road together. Then off we go, everyone back to class, sorry, to the restaurant. The navigator, modern technology such as social media which didn’t exist in school days, did the rest. And thank goodness otherwise many of us had to dust off the topographical maps and studied maps of times gone by. After having sailed with that wind in our sails that pushed us forward over the years, just to stay on topic for our friends from Viareggio, almost half a century of life has passed, just as a joke. Sometimes in the stormy sea of ​​life and sometimes with the calmer and flatter sea. But we’ve come this far, for better or worse. Destination of the evening: the reunion with dinner of the legendary 5th A surveyors, after so many decades. The culinary pretext is a must given the refined palates of some experts and also to further enhance the emotion of the moment. Once again the song by the great Lucio Battisti could be contextualized at the time but also today. What would life be if there were no emotions? A beautiful evening spent, full of emotions in which a carefully prepared menu of land and sea played its part. Between life stories and jokes, between teasing and light-hearted pranks, even the palate had the upper hand in the restaurant suggested by those who know about restaurants. It opens with a Tuscan appetizer with ham, lard and Camaiore cured meats with pecorino, panzerotti and pepper cake also from Camaiore. To move on to the seafood one with warm seafood salad, fish balls and vegetables. Short break where everyone gave the best of themselves and then, freewheeling without quantity limits for some, and those who read and were present know who I am referring to, we moved on to tortelli with meat sauce followed by tagliatelle with mushrooms and flavored macaroni of sea. The fried fish with vegetables closed the courses while waiting for the inevitable dessert. Exquisite dessert specially prepared for the evening represented by two cakes, grandma’s and grandpa’s, so as not to do anyone any injustice. And fortunately there were grandmothers and grandfathers at the table. All washed down with white and red wine from Montalcino and Montecarlo. In short, a very respectable menu and it couldn’t have been otherwise given the important moment that was being celebrated. Because it was a real party. Maybe too long a wait, maybe it could have been organized earlier but, as the Italian maestro Alberto Mansi, who we met him, taught us, “it’s never too late”. A united class of ours that has produced, one might say, many “beautiful people” who, despite the vicissitudes of life, have remained “friends forever”. Everyone took their own path with the awareness, however, that that time spent together would be important for everyone and the enthusiasm and joy of those present at the new class appeal were the tangible testimony. And at the end, after many photos and videos, the ritual group photo that seals an important moment that each of us will carry in our hearts. Photo to be compared with the other black and white taken just 46 years earlier. With the awareness that time may pass but the value of friendship surpasses space and time because it is eternal. Always to remember a song from the past by Pooh, but always current: “you can be friends forever”. A promise, also derived from the awareness of having waited too long, came on Friday evening: no one thinks of waiting another 46 years for the next class dinner. We need to make sure we have a “roll call meeting” again much sooner. Naturally always with your legs under a bench, sorry, under a well-laid table.