Manlio’s buddy Luciano, who grew up with him and whom I had by no means met sooner than, is feisty. he's a guy of the sinistra, the left, and his demeanor jogs my memory many of the form of righteous leftist that one used to come across within the States within the overdue sixties and seventies, a guy with an time table. in reality, he jogs my memory loads of me—twenty-five years in the past. once Domenico strikes away, Luciano, who hasn't ever been to the U.S., starts off to pepper me with questions, and he wishes them responded. “Perchè gli americani non votano? ” he asks, “Why don’t american citizens vote? ” punctuating the final word through creating a pass together with his finger at the thick white linen, as though we nonetheless marked ballots with a pencil, instead of pulling levers or punching playing cards with a blunted element. it's been decades for the reason that I engaged in a political dialogue approximately the United States with a foreigner, in Italian, and i'm rusty. at the one hand i would like to be sincere approximately my concepts and emotions, at the different i need oddly to guard my kingdom from outdoor assault, as though without notice all the United States have been my kinfolk, giving us the suitable to criticize each other, yet however now not open to feedback from others. I reply by way of announcing that individuals consider alienated from the approach, that it doesn’t reply rather well to their wishes, that they believe there isn’t a lot distinction among one political team and the opposite, that it’s a video game performed by way of individuals with cash for individuals with cash. My solution turns out to meet Luciano. in reality, in view that I didn’t argue the purpose approximately how undemocratic and hazardous it truly is that the elected officers of the USA carry place of work simply because 25 percentage of the eligible electorate placed them there, it seemed I had disarmed him. Manlio starts to notice that i'd be uncomfortable along with his friend’s line of wondering and attempts to alter the topic, yet Luciano protests that these items are vital to grasp. The dialogue closes with my asserting that the papers are actually reporting a drop in Italian balloting, and that i say that as humans turn into extra filthy rich, they generally consider that they could purchase their convenience, their safeguard, their future health, and they glide clear of the political method. I say it's going to finally take place in Italy. Manlio consents with me, yet Luciano protests, adamantly. In his brain, political alienation is a characteristic of the us, now not of his kingdom. The tonnarelli are perfetti, squisiti, indimenticabili, excellent, beautiful, unforgettable. The tastes are wealthy, powerful, diversified, invading the very map of my mouth’s palate of flavor buds. i glance over and notice that the others are sooner than me. speak has unexpectedly died down, having taken moment position to the pleasures of the gola. we're all indulging because the Romans do, as heaping mounds of twisted do-it-yourself pasta are taken up at the fork and bitten into, letting fall to the plate what hasn’t but made it into one’s mouth. The parts are large, however the flavor is compelling, and the tonnarelli inside of mins are long past, washed down with the wine. Domenico, environment a stack of dirty plates on our desk, stops by means of back to inquire approximately secondi.