Visiting my brother-in-law Valerio in Italy always means being surrounded by olive groves. Like many in the region, olives are his primary crop, processed in his impressive frantoio – a high-tech olive oil mill capable of handling large trucks. However, on my recent arrival, the frantoio wasn’t filled with the expected olive processing equipment, but rather thousands of aloe vera plants.
The sheer volume of aloe vera was astonishing. Piles upon piles, in every size imaginable, were haphazardly stacked throughout the building. My son and I spent an entire day simply sorting these botanical mountains by size, a task that felt like a prelude to an even more daunting one: planting them. The thought of the next day’s labor already weighed heavily on me.
Our day began before dawn, at 5:30 AM. After a quick breakfast, we gathered our tools and set off for the fields. Our workforce was a family affair: myself, my son, siblings, a niece, and two nephews – a testament to the communal spirit of rural Italian life. Even at this early hour, others were already working, a necessity to avoid the intense midday heat. The air was thick with the drone of cicadas, and the sirocco wind, blowing directly from the Sahara, brought with it a wave of oppressive heat and humidity.
Arriving at the fields, the landscape appeared arid and parched, almost desert-like in its dryness. My son exchanged a knowing glance with me, perhaps mirroring my own initial skepticism. Yet, the locals possess an intrinsic understanding of this land. They know it to be surprisingly generous. In season, persimmons can be plucked straight from the trees, and almonds gathered from the ground. The climate is mild enough for t-shirts in winter and conducive to growing plants that struggle in other parts of Europe. This seemingly harsh terrain, these Familiar Grounds, held a promise of unexpected bounty.
This experience underscored a valuable lesson: familiarity can sometimes mask the unexpected. What appeared at first glance to be inhospitable land was, in reality, fertile and yielding. Just like these familiar grounds of Italy, life often surprises us when we least expect it, revealing hidden potential in the most ordinary of places.
