Looking for Beer Cans in Italy
Most people go to Italy to see ancient ruins, eat wonderful food and drink great wine. I thought that was what we were going to do when I foolishly planned a trip with "ex-Marine" (husband, Steve), and our five (two mine, three his) children. (Yes, I do have lots of "screws loose in my head.") And, if you read some of my other articles, you know that I am also incredibly naive!
Early in our marriage, I asked "ex-Marine" if...I scrimped and saved most of my earnings for one year...would he be willing to take the five "darlings" to Europe for one month? Still euphoric over our marriage, he said YES! (Silly him...)
Florence, Italy - the Duomo, glorious statue of David, the Pitti Palace, Uffizi Gallery. Where were our children? Under pushcarts, rummaging through trash cans. Why? Oldest son, Michael (age 16) had decided to collect European Beer Cans - empty of course - and where else do you find beer cans? In the trash. Fine...so what if people stared in wonder as our five kids dived through trash in the streets of Florence. BUT, then Tracie, oldest girl (age 15) had a brainstorm...her boyfriend back home would like European Beer Cans, too! Now the war began. With her two younger sisters (Robbie and Jamie) hunting for her, and Michael's brother (Joel) hunting for him.
If you have children, you know that five is a terrible number. The combinations are infinite. Four against one - three against two - two against two with one sitting out - or three against two. The daily fighting over beer cans along with other IMPORTANT items took on a new meaning. And one day, Tracie found the ULTIMATE beer can. No matter what Michael said, or tried to bribe her with, she was NOT giving it up. Boyfriend, Brian, was going to be the lucky recipient of this most magnificant beer can.
Michael was now hand-carrying his precious cargo of beer cans through Rome, Venice, on and off trains, as we headed back to Luxembourg for our Icelandic Air flight back to Chicago. Some European trains have automatic doors, and what did Tracie do as Michael was standing near the door with his irreplaceable beer cans? She accidentally pushed the button that closed the door - right on his beer cans - crushing some of them!
The agony, misery, yelling and screaming..."You did it on purpose"..."I didn't, I'm so sorry"...and on and on and on.
Twenty-eight years later, those magnificent, precious beer cans are history...along with Tracie's boyfriend. But we'll never forget my five scavengers using their time in Europe, by rummaging through the garbage in Florence!
