Dr. Gianni, Medicine Man

Over the next few days the train passed train depots appearing to be in the middle of nowhere. He did not know the depots were located on the rail line and sometimes were several miles from the nearest town. Traveling through the plains he was just amazed at the vastness and richness this great land has. He wondered how high the mountains were, as the train chugged along for over a day in its gradual ascent. He stepped onto the platform and felt the cool mountain air whisk past his face as he inhaled the fresh pine scented mountain air. The train finally arrived in Trinidad. Giovanni stepped off the train and saw his father towering above the other men on the platform. He walked over to him and they hugged each other and kissed each other on the cheek. Girolamo said, “Sono felice voi sono qui (I am glad you are here).” Giovanni replied, “Così sono papa (So am I papa!).” Girolamo carried Giovanni’s bag to a waiting horse drawn wagon. They both climbed into the wagon and Girolamo picked up the reins and began driving the horse. It was dusty with a slight wind blowing as they passed through Trinidad. Giovanni’s head appeared as if was going to twist off as he looked from side to side of his new surroundings. Almost all the men were wearing six guns on their hips. Although some wore cowboy hats, many wore hats of different styles and shapes. He eyed the many showgirl entertainers as they passed by a saloon. He thought, “This is just like the books.” Leaving Trinidad Girolamo said, “Kiss civilization good-bye.” With a shocked look on his face, Giovanni asked, “What do you mean?” Girolamo replied, “Vedrete (You’ll see)!” A while later they passed by the mining camp in Sopris. Giovanni had never seen anything like it and asked, “What do they do there?” Girolamo explained the mining operation and added it may be a good place to make extra money while the establishing the vineyard. A short time later, they arrived at the vineyard. They climbed down from the wagon and Girolamo showed his son the house he and Francisco had built. Giovanni entered the house and looked around in amazement saying, “Mama would like to have this house.” Girolamo replied, “Perhaps one day if the vineyards continue to grow, we will have a villa overlooking the Roman Campagna.” Girolamo showed Giovanni where he would sleep and stowed his bag. Girolamo gave Giovanni a tour of the house and the use of each room. Girolamo gave Giovanni a hoe he had brought from Italy saying, “I could not find a hoe like this when I was here before so I brought it here from home. It is the same one we used to start the vineyards in Ceprano and Pofi.” [This hoe is now encased along with Giovanni’s future wife’s hoe in a display cabinet belonging the his family] They stepped onto the porch as Girolamo pointed to the far ends of the vineyard telling Giovanni a lot of work was needed before it was ready for mass production. They walked between the trellises and examined the vines. Some of the vines looked strong and healthy while others looked as if they were very young and in the process of developing their roots. Girolamo explained that before his return, the vineyard had been neglected. He told Giovanni of the disarray he found the vineyard in a year and a half ago when he arrived. Instead of building a winery as was planned before he departed Italy he has spent his time developing new vine roots. Only in the past couple of months did he manage to get them planted with the help of Antonio, Giovanni’s cousin. He said Anthony was of great help but the rest were useless. He said, “L'altro era arrivato l'anno scorso e ha contribuito a ottenere le radici iniziate (The others had arrived last year and helped get the roots started)”. Waving his arms in a sweeping manner as he approached the house, Girolamo said, “We planted this garden but it was not enough to feed all of us. so they had to find other work while I tended the vineyard.” He asked Giovanni if he had studied English. Giovanni said he was required to learn some while at the University. Girolamo said, “Good!” Girolamo took Giovanni by the arm and began walking to the café for their evening meal. They entered the small town and into the café. Looking around Giovanni said, “I can’t believe I’m in the Wild West.” Girolamo laughed and in broken English said, “You will need to learn the ways here.” Although he understood what he said, Giovanni did not comprehend what his father meant. Girolamo saw the puzzled look on Giovanni’s face and said, “I know your mother is worried and I will go back. I cannot leave the vineyard unless I leave it with someone I can rely on. I need you to take care of the vineyard until I can return.” Giovanni was stunned. He looked at his father and said, “Arrangements will have to be made to delay school longer. Filomina will need to be told.” Girolamo told him, “I will contact the University and have your mother contact Filomina. That’s better handled by a woman.” They continued their meal in silence. When they finished their meal they walked back to the house.