Our favorite restaurant in town has one television going. It is there, really, for Mamma, the owner's mother who works with him. Being Americans, we usually show up rather early in "Italian time." That is, we prefer dinner around 7:30 pm, unlike the locals for whom lunch is the major meal of the day and dinner is more like a late snack. So, we are often the only people there at that hour, with perhaps a couple of kids or a lone man having a beer and pizza. That is how we discovered "L'Eredita."
"L'Eredita," (The Inheritance) is a quiz show involving words and facts somewhat like the old "College Bowl" game, or "Jeopardy" or "Password." The Italian twist is that it includes four young, gorgeous models who show up in thigh high skirts and heels and dance for about 30 seconds at the start of each show. They are called "Le Professoresse"...The Professors.....hahahaha.....because at some point in the show the contestants need to guess the meaning of a very obscure word and the "professoressa" explains the meaning when someone finally guesses, or knows in very rare cases.
I have become hooked on this show because it helps me learn to hear the language and helps me realize how much I understand. It teaches me words and facts, too. While it is very formulaic, it is also fast paced and most shows here keep the advertisements confined to the beginning and the end of the shows so there are no interruptions.
By the end of each show there are three people out of seven left standing, the others having been eliminated. Those three come back for the next show. The top person, at the end, has to try and guess the one word that ties 5 other words together, not in the etiological sense, but in the ideological sense. For instance, last night, three of the five words were "contract, foto, good" and the answer was "matrimony."
I was surprised that one new contestant last week appeared to my eyes to have autism. He was little louder in his speech than most, he occasionally hand flapped, but he was very good at the game and lasted an entire week, which is a lot. The other "survivor" has been the big champion every night, getting to the last stage of the game. He is tall, has big blue eyes and light brown hair and reminds me of a younger Peter Fonda. The young man with autism is also tall with thick, dark hair and wears black rimmed glasses, somewhat resembling "Waldo" from "Where's Waldo?"
I have to add that throughout the five shows this kid was on, no one made any mention of a disability, no one gave him preferential treatment and the audience always cheered very heartily when he scored.
But, last night he and the "big" champion had to square off in a timed match, with questions being lobbed like ping pong balls back and forth at lightning speed. Before they started the kid said, "The best ones!" in English, which surprised me and obviously also the emcee, by the look on his face. They both were neck and neck but the kid with autism ran out of time just seconds before the Peter Fonda guy. With that, he clapped in recognition of the winner and went to go offstage, but the champion guy said, "Wait"...aspetta… and marched across the stage and shook his hand, then they hugged. The audience was going wild. I was in tears.
And I wondered, would anything like that have happened in the U.S.? Is it just my imagination, or are people kinder here? Is it because they come into contact with others every day? They chat, they greet one another, they have community. Personally, I believe because of that compassion is more easily fostered. It shows in everyday encounters and it even shows on a TV game program.
Grazie, Niccolo (Peter Fonda) per essere un gentiluomo.
