Malta Diary - part 3

Yes, this was a terrific week for photography as I ventured out to many other towns and villages, some of which have changed and developed so much since I was a youngster. Traffic of course is horrendous. Wherever you go, people are always friendly and ready to help with directions and easy to start a chat with, especially when they notice you are a native Maltese with a tourist glow around you, particularly when they notice the camera around my neck. 

Walking through many of the streets of the small towns, you never know what you might come across....unusual flowers that you never knew about, small sparrows frolicking on the tree branches, women crafting lace in a shady spot outside their homes, small chapels and other architectural gems, elderly men resting on benches eyeing me suspiciously as I take their picture, and many other surprising scenarios that show up unexpectedly. When I was younger and took pictures of elderly folks, they took offense, considering me an intruder. Nowadays it's much easier and safer, not only because they are used to tourists shooting all kinds of photos, but also because telephoto lenses make it easier to aim, point and shoot from a distance, getting the same result as an annoying close-up which nobody seems to like.

I have been helping out in my parish with Masses and some confessions. Since I left Malta for good back in 1981, there are very few of my former folks and parishioners who are still alive. My former altar servers are now parents, and their own children are now serving my Masses. The many couples that I married in the late 1970s are now grandparents and the many babies I baptized in the same period are now parents themselves and raising their own babies. Moreover my brother Marcel and his wife Maria are celebrating their 25th anniversary on May 21 with a visit to Florence and Rome, the same places they visited on their honeymoon. Back then they also visited me in New York, staying with me in the Rectory, while visiting various landmarks in the Big Apple. 

The temperature is warming up slowly slowly, as is the political temperature in many of the people, in anticipation of the big European elections taking place this coming Saturday, May 24. These are taking place all over Europe, in all the countries representing the members of the European Union. This is similar to elections taking place in the USA for members of Congress. Each country has a number of members proportionate to the population. So, while Italy, Germany and France have over 70 members, smaller countries like Portugal, Sweden and Greece have around 20 each - Malta has only 6. Stay tuned for more news from Malta in a few days.