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Tony Miksak

WORDS ON BOOKS by Tony Miksak for KZYX&Z-FM, 90.7 Philo CA
Airs Sunday, April 22, 2007 at 10:55 am, repeated Wednesday, April 25 at 1 pm

(copyright 2007 Tony Miksak)

Title: California to Italy and Back Again

(MUSIC UP) This is Tony Miksak with a few Words on Books.

The Great Wheel of Life in Mendocino revolves slowly, and eventually we return to where we started.

A while back I ran into a friend at the post office. Hey – how's it going? You haven't been around for a while.

Well, my friend explained, I've been living in China for two years.

It goes like that in Mendocino. We disappear for a while, and no one knows where we go. I'm just back from 4.5 weeks spent absorbing the Italian language in Dante's hometown, Florence, Italy, and while not as exotic as China, Italy is definitely NOT California.

In California we have food fusion. Anything in the refrigerator may be mated with anything in the cupboard, and that's dinner. In Italy things are much more strict. Basil goes with mozzarella. Not sage, not oregano, just basil.

No parmesano on pasta if fish is involved. No cappuccino after 11 a.m.

The Italians have a phrase for this: "Non si fa" which translates to "we don't do."

I ran into non si fa when I asked if I could have a bit of cheese with my tiny Italian breakfast. Allesandra, the host mother of my three-person Italian family, looked at me like I had just picked my nose in public. She smiled. Well, half of her mouth smiled; the other side definitely turned downward. Then she went to the refrigerator and got me some cheese.

I know this cost her a great deal of effort. Weeks later she still visibly trembled when she caught me spreading brie on a biscuit. Non si fa, signore, non si fa.

In California you can have Oreos with your Coca Cola for breakfast, and no one will say anything to you because they're busy spreading peanut butter on a bagel.

At the Duomo Museum (Museo dell Opera del Duomo), in the attached bookstore, I discovered Linda Falcone's brand new book "Italians Dance and I'm a Wallflower, Adventures in Italian Expression."

This is a wonderfully enthralling collection of essays, interesting even if you are not an expatriate or student of Italian. For some years now Falcone has written a monthly column for the local English language newspaper The Florentine. Typically she riffs on a selected Italian idiomatic phrase for the benefit of English-speakers in Italy.

I learned a lot from her. Plus, best part, she's funny.

Linda Falcone was born in northern California and raised in a bilingual family with an Italian mother and American father. Almost from birth she has traveled between California and Italy. She now has lived full time in Florence for fourteen years.

On the subject of non si fa she writes, "Italians, as a people, are fairly relaxed. They will not obsess about politically correct word choice or nitpick about pseudo-moral dilemmas. They have a great capacity for putting things in perspective and avoiding unnecessary fuss. But there are some things that you cannot do in Italy. Some things that are just not done. Have never been done. Will never be done. Why? Simply because non si fa... "

Falcone started keeping a non si fa list: "No walking barefoot ever or anywhere... No showering after meals. It blocks the digestion and could be deadly. No shorts in the city, even if it's August... No eating without a tablecloth..." and so on to the uses of toilet paper (not for nose blowing), mixing sweet and savory (don't even think about it), washing your hair (not every day, please), no itemizing the bill (relax – it will average out).

Unfortunately, Linda Falcone's book is not yet available on this side of the Atlantic. If you'd like to read some of her most recent writing, try clicking on the newspaper's website:

(MUSIC) As for me, I'm delighted to be back in California, speaking and writing English once more. But Italy always calls, and I know I'll be back one day.

(MUSIC) You can subscribe to the email version of Words on Books by writing to amiksak@mcn.org. Transcripts are available on the KZYX web site.

Notes:

"Italians Dance & I'm a Wallflower, Adventures in Italian Expression" by Linda Falcone, illustrations by Leo Cardini. The Florentine Press paperback Euro 15. ISBN 8890243406.
Email: and their web site again:

While studying Italian at Scuola Leonardo da Vinci I kept a travel blog. You can read my deathless observations, and see my photos here: and scroll down to "Learning Life & Italian in Florence, Italy" and click away.

A friend in Tuscany is Robert Etherington who flies balloons and organizes musical gatherings: and

His wife, Liz Graham-Yool, writes and illustrates children's books and restores ancient churches:

Tony Miksak
Bookseller Emeritus & member, Board of Directors, KZYX&Z
read "Words on Books" at http://www.gallerybooks.com/bkm/index.html
travel blog: http://www.travelpod.com/members/amiksak

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