It was a beautiful early-Spring sunny-morning in Naples.
It was Spring ´75, I went for a walk, my skin was gladly warmed by the early sun-rays and the eyes glad to enjoy the brightness of everything under the sunshine.
A black spot born in the bowels of time lurked behind the corner of the road: my wife came to tell me the Carabinieri were searching for me, I quickly took in consideration all the possibilities, even to run away, but somehow the sunny side of life made me confiant if not in everything else, yes in myself: I decided to face the events and went just to their encounter.
I was in my twenties, was married, two kids, and a dog, I was a rebel, some kind of rare anarchist-spiritualist-revolutionary psychedelic-painter & poet searcher after the Truth.
I´d read pages of the poem Savitri by Sri Aurobindo and Yogananda's autobiography, weaves of renovation swept the world and that morning I was walking about with my peace pipe and my last poem in my pockets.
Holding me as a criminal they took me inside the police station close to my house, the same police station which saw me every sunday morning in the garden in front of it with my wife, two babies and Luigi, our dog. (If the dog belonged to us or we belonged to him is a theme to develop separately).
They put on me some old fashioned handcuffs with screws and chains around my wrists and ask me why I refused to serve the Army.
I said I had two childs and no spare time for the Army, and anyway as a pacifist I did not agree with their opinion on several matters.
(As a matter of fact Luigi has never loved a uniform either and whenever he saw one by the stroller while with the kids he would eloquently growl as against a potential enemy).
We take you to jail because since two years now you never presented yourself to serve in the Army.Actually I had already thrown twice the military postcard in the toilet and pulled the chain, I couldn't believe it would get so serious.
I had a very large smile in my face, I was in a kind of ecstatic trance for the sudden realization that they could imprison my body but not my spirit, and one of them said:- You smile, this is a serious matter, nothing to laugh about!
When I answered that they could chain my body but not my ideals, that in my mind I was forever free they look at me as to an alien and closed the door of the jail.
A few hours later I was escorted to a military prison in an official car.
The formal interrogation started asking me if I was a Jehovah's Witness or a draft dodger.
-I´m sorry but I am neither, I represent myself.
- Nay, nay, you -must- be one of those two, please choose: are you a J.´s W. or a draft dodger?
-Sir again, I do not belong to any of those groups, I just represent myself.
The policemen look at me with impatience eager to validate with a cross one of the two choices, there was not an entrance as "representing himself".
- Are you a Jehovah's Witness?
- No I'm not.
-Then you are a draft dodger said the official glad to find a solution.
-Why didn't you show up at the Army? We´ve been searching for you two years now.
I was tempted to answer that I was not interested at all in the Army and had better things to do, but I attempted an explication so I said: You see sir, borders between nations are an artificial thing to me, in my vision of things there are no borders and no difference between humans, we all belong to the human species. If you want to serve in the Army you can do it, but as for myself I decline the requirement.
The official had an upset look at me, the interrogatory exceeded his understanding and was interrupted having me back to jail.
Two days later a literate and cult colonel was sent from the Capitol just for me in order to understand who the hell I was and what I was saying.
I answered to the same question with a larger explication seeing that my listener was able to understand my point of view when I talked about the absence of borders.
-Yes, he answered, but what would you do if the enemy would suddenly put at risk your existence and that of your family?
- There would be no enemy if there were no borders to defend.
The colonel was a bit disappointed by my answer, evidently he had never taken in consideration the absence of borders equal to absence of enemies, he was educated firmly believing in a motherland, in borders to defend and enemies to defeat, and now he had someone in front of him that questioned his very belief.
He seemed to get interested in my frame of mind and ask for my vision of thing, I answered I was a peaceful person interested in yoga and a spiritual transformation, moreover right in that moment my place was with my family and kids, not in the Army neither in a prison.
There was no space in the interrogation for my kind of answers, it was the first time that someone questioned their very belief rather than defending a cult or being a fugitive.
A date for the trial was assigned and a duty solicitor came to see me.
He was an aged man, father of family, and as a father he ask me if I wanted to remain in jail till my 47th because that was the military law in my case. I thought of my wife and childrens, I did not consider that awful perspective. He suggested me to claim my absence due to a very serious illness, in that case they had to send me back to Naples at the military hospital for tests, meanwhile I could reunite with my family.
So I did and the next day I was at the hospital claiming a terrible stomach ache every time they touch my belly. They prognosticate gastritis or ulcer and send me at home for three months to see any betterment.
Next visit I played a superlative role of a person affected by a persistent stomach ache that could hardly stand on his legs and I bent in two for the pain right there and then.
They gave me three more months to enjoy with my family in an enviable health.
Back again three months later the surprised colonel at the hospital in seeing me still around said: What the fuck, are you still here?
-Mister colonel I'm very sick, I can't eat without throwing up most of the times (that was a last-minute addition to my list of sufferings).
-Now, you get out of my sight he said, right? I don't want to see you here anymore, he stamped his signature on a piece of paper which said I was permanently unable to serve in the Army.
My health seemed suddenly to improve while taking firmly hold of the sheet of paper and tried not to run out of sight with my health completely restored.
So I got rid of the Army and when back home we made a small family party celebrating the issue with Luigi happily barking around all of us.
