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The Eternal City = The Endless Family Vacation
by Beth Kane
I love Tom Kane's profile photo on the homepage. There he is with that "charming" expression he wore permanently during his teenage years. And there's his baby brother, Michael, in a loving brotherly embrace. Since Michael is four and a half years younger than Tom, he probably spent half of his formative years in a headlock. It's a wonder Michael can still walk upright.
We boarded a flight in July 1988 from Dulles Airport in Washington to London (another gruesome tale) and then on to Rome. Since Michael was only 11 years old I bought him a book called "Mouth Sounds" to keep him occupied. Michael mastered the sound of a dripping water faucet within 30 minutes. We listened to him "thump" his cheek to perfectly mimick the sound of water dripping across the Atlantic and throughout Europe for more than a week. On the overnight flight passengers were issued eye masks so they could get some sleep. Michael remained wide awake practicing his "mouth sounds." One male passenger muttered, "For God's sake, call a plumber."
I booked the land arrangements through British Airways not realizing it would cost a fortune. I planned to put all 3 kids in one room, but some ridiculous European health law limited occupancy to a maximum of 2 people per room. Bethie was absolutely delighted to have a room to herself, and Dad was apoplectic. Anyway, we wound up in a beautiful old family villa that was restored and family-run, the Guilio Cesare Hotel, just outside of Vatican City. I now leave it to those who were there to fill in the blanks about :
1) Dad making Bethie switch rooms twice (hint: the only room with a double bed was over the piano bar and had no air conditioning).
2) Tom lifting Michael onto the wall with the broken glass shards inset (Romans don't use barbed wire on their walls to discourage intruders). See attached photo.
3) Bethie missing the Vatican Museums because her throat hurt (we found out years later that her throat was just fine, she wanted to watch Italian soap operas on TV. Never mind that her only Italian phrase was "Dove posso comprare...?" meaning "Where can I buy...?"
4) The nuns in the Sistine Chapel. We were pretty surprised to see Aunt Ev (Sister Evelyn Kane, RSCJ) in from New York for the canonization of Phillipine Duschesne. What are the odds of meeting your aunt on a Sunday morning in Rome. P.S. No one seemed to care that I was Blessed Phillippine in a school play when I was in high school. I think I looked exceptionally "holy." If I can locate the photo of me in the nun's habit, you may be sure I'll post it. There must have been thousands of Sacred Heart girls and nuns from all over the world in Rome for the big event.
5) Dad thinking he was having a heart attack (actually muscle strain from carrying the movie camera to take all those photos of walls and pigeons) and leaning over a water fountain in a park to pop an aspirin only to have Michael rush ahead and put his finger on the fountain spraying Dad from head to foot. I'm not sure if the aspirin was ever taken.
6) Michael begging Dad to buy him a mini switchblade knife in the early afternoon -- Mom objecting for safety reasons -- Dad overuling Mom (apperently it's a guy thing) -- and a perfectly romantic evening interrupted when Michael knocked on our door because he cut himself with the knife. I have only one thing to say about that..."I told you so."
7) Stories that can only be told now--18 years later. I can only imagine the ones I don't know about.
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