I now present to you the coffee pot, or rather the moka pot. I wish I had a little more time to illustrate its functions and the many ways to use it, but I will limit myself to listing the essentials so as not to become boring. It is truly a versatile object. In addition to its original purpose, we use it to iron trousers, to drive nails into walls, when we buy walnuts we use it as a nutcracker, when we make the precious pesto sauce, we use it to crush pine nuts, and we also use it to make mash with peeled Cirio brand tomatoes or potatoes and many other things. But the moment that sends me into ecstasy, is when I hear its final gurgle in sending up the coffee and its aroma, which penetrates my nostrils. It is a great enjoyment.
Here is the gas cooker. A real marvel to the inmate, lest one forget the moka pot. I present it to you in its perfect form. Simply assemble it and it is ready for use. Here, I wanted to show you all its components so that you can better appreciate this wonderful object.
I cannot restrain myself. Something must be said about this instrument; not to sing its praises, but rather to speak with love, esteem and affection for the object it has come to replace. Now, I’ll tell you: once upon a time, not so long ago, when it was still possible to buy Cirio peeled tomatoes in this creepy place—you’ll think I’ll start with a boring parade of praise about the 1001 sauces that can be made with the precious tomato pulp, but that’s not the case—the most precious commodity for us inmates was the sheet metal that served as a lid, a truly multipurpose tool, a real salvation for us. We could use it to cut meat, peel potatoes, chop onions, slice a piece of salami or bacon, peel a carrot and a thousand other things; all things that no plastic knife can do so well and so easily, not to mention that to peel a potato you need at least three plastic knives because they break so easily. This little sheet should be praised by all inmates and will be missed because it is now gone and I, perhaps more than any other inmate, can vouch for its effectiveness as I have used it for six decades and don’t know how much longer. I can assure you that it has never failed me. When I get out of here, I want to go on a pilgrimage to its production house and pray to Saint Cirio to thank the souls of those responsible and bring the sheets back into the prison circuit. I will also pray to him for serving me with true love for so long. Of course, I will not pray to San Cragnotti, the former owner of Cirio. We both served Cirio and each in his own way exploited it, but what can I say? I’m sorry about the plastic knives, but compared to Cirio’s sheet metal, they’re a real nothing.
