Monday, October 12, 2015

The Cream Puff



The Church, Rocca Malatina   Blair Pessemier Acrylic/linen  15 x 18"   38 x 46 cm    Sold
“I’ve got a car for you,” the proprietress of the coffee shop announced to Blair on Wednesday.  A town resident had died, and the family was wishing to dispose of the car.  “Free!” she told Blair.  Touched by her generosity and thoughtfulness, Blair had to refuse. “We are picking up our new car today”.
Church and house next door   Laurie Fox Pessemier Acrylic/canvas  10.5 x 14"  27 x 35 cm  

​People who buy cars online miss all the fun.  Where else can I sit with a swarthy southern Italian who taps in his words in Italian and they come out of the computer in English?  And we don’t just stick to car talk – he tells us his brother-in-law is a painter; I tell him my best friend’s name is Sal, like his.  
A friend who speaks both Italian and English tells us, “this guy is southern Italian, I can hardly understand him. And besides that, be careful” (there's a trickiness associated with the south).   I reply that I am from somewhere else, too, don’t speak Italian at all, and Sal deserves a chance to sell me this car.   Besides, the fact his name is Sal, and my friend is Sal (who sold us almost every car we bought), has big good vibes to me.   And I can see this guy, smell him, shake his hand, look in his eyes.   Our insurance agent says, “where did you find this guy, I can hardly understand him.”  The name of the dealership is “Passione Auto”. 

​The Yellow Tree across the Street    Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/canvas  10.5 x 16 "  27 x 41 cm   
The salesman at Renault was a nice person, don’t get me wrong.  He did everything right.  But Blair and I couldn’t face a car payment and a WHITE car.  Almost all cars in Italy are grey or white.   And Sal had exactly the car we are seeking.  Yes, our new wheels are candy-apple RED, just a shade off Ferrari.
He assured us he could do the paperwork necessary to register it in our name.  We got  international drivers licenses, but otherwise we have the same papers we always had.  Two other dealers wouldn’t work with us, and even the immigration specialist had his doubts.    
So we returned our rental car (the last of 5 months of loaners!) in Bologna and powered up the road to Paradise in our new old Citroen C5 wagon.  
The Cream Puff  Laurie Fox Pessemier   Acrylic/linen   9.5 x 14"  24 x 35 cm  
Laurie and Blair Pessemier
p.s.  our "Mostra" (art show) in Rocca Malatina has been a roaring success.  GRAZIE TUTTI for your good wishes and patronage!

No comments: