The little old lady in an Italian cemetery

Just a few days ago someone mentioned communication between parties who did not speak the same language. I don't remember the context, but it did make me remember one of my favorite moments on my trip to Italy.

We were in Venice. We'd only been in the country for a few days. We decided to check out the island where Ezra Pound is buried. You know, the island that is nothing but a cemetary? Anyway, I don't have a particularly strong need to see where famous people are buried but I didn't want to leave the group, so when we got there I found a nice quiet place to sit with my journal. Some seemingly magical moments happened while I sat on that little wall. I saw a little lizard, and watched people enter and exit the cemetary. Birds flew in, chirped a bit, and then flew out. It was all incredibly picturesque, as is most of Italy.

As I sat there, I heard the sound of a woman's heels clicking along accompanied by the sound of little wheels hitting small cracks in the pavement. Suddenly, as the sound grew closer, I heard the sound of the woman trip. I spun around to make sure she was okay. She was still standing and was taking a moment to regain her balance. She was a little old lady with grey hair, not much taller than the average Italian grandmother. She saw me, smiled, and then began rattling off to me in Italian. She paused for a moment, waiting for a response from me. I smiled and politely shrugged my shoulders and shook my head. She understood. I didn't speak Italian.

She could have just smiled and walked away. But instead she did something much more touching. She started the story over again, this time acting it all out while she talked (still in Italian). She took a few steps back, began to walk, tall this time with her shoulders back, and then, woops!, she trips. She mimes brushing off her knees and wiping off her forehead. Then she grabs the handle to her wheelie bag, smiles at me, and walks away.

That woman, whoever she was, will be with me forever, and we've never shared a single word.