Rich and I will be driving to Milan tomorrow to attend the funeral of a dear friend's father. He was called "Prof", short for professore, and was one of the first people I fell in love with here in Ceriana, although he, as I, spent only summers here. Each summer his devoted daughter, Letizia would drive him down from Milan to escape the intense heat. When I met Prof he was in his late 80s and was holding a video-camera. He was always photographing with his "high-end" camera. His subjects included his dining companions at En Tu Furnu, but mostly, his films were of cats; his daughter's cats and the menagerie of strays here in Ceriana. He'd rise before the sun and, camera in hand, he and his daughter would begin their morning walk. He was a little shaky but refused her helping hand; headstrong and proud to a fault! They'd return from the walk and Prof would marvel at the day's shoot. I am in receipt of several of those videos!
Letizia would rent him a room near the level top of the town; the small house of Thomas; the last time a room in Teré--our only hotel. The last time Prof was in town so, too, were 11 young ladies who shared the remaining rooms of Teré. The girls were here for Sororis a musical workshop a colleague and I arranged and conducted. I'm sure the girls were anything but quiet at night, but Prof didn't seem to mind, in fact, directly after their performance, he called them to his room to show-off the concert video. He was 91 then and the girls were smitten.
That was two years ago. Last Summer, too frail to make the trip from Milan, I talked to Prof on the phone and offered my hope to see him soon. I'll see him again Wednesday.
Riposa in Pace, dott. Gianfranco (Prof) Montanari.
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