Curve Up, Straight Down

Honoring a great teacher and others like him who dedicate their lives to growing and enriching our minds, especially in this time of great challenge.

You've read about the plant delivery fiasco and the water saga, so I was going to tell you about the unfortunate red squirrel invasion and the wildlife exterminators (who call their office the “cave”), but the pesky red critters and their capture (humane) got me thinking about something else: “The Ransom of Red Chief,” a short story I have loved since the fourth grade. Written by O. Henry, it was first published in the July 6, 1907 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Go read it, and then watch one of the three film adaptions, the best one made in 1959. I promise your spirits will brighten immeasurably and, if you’re a writer, you’ll say “damn, that’s good.”

But as fond as I am of this hilarious tale of the red-haired Ebenezer Dorset and his two hapless captors, I am fonder still of Mr. Benanti, the teacher who introduced me to this classic. I was in the fourth grade, attending the Vicenza Elementary School in Vicenza, Italy. We had moved there from the U.S. in 1962 because my father, Colonel Ekrem S. Turan, MD, was assigned to the 45th Field Army Hospital at the Caserma Ederle army base. Living in a foreign country was an exciting experience as we immersed ourselves in the new culture, language and people. Moving into a beautiful villa on Monte Berico, driving into town, shopping, and making friends, it was as if we had lived there all our lives. We would have been happy to continue to be oblivious that we were Americans, not Italians, if it had not been for school.

Mr. Benanti was one of many American teachers who came to work overseas in schools for military dependents. The American school in Vicenza, like other army bases overseas, was run by the US Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA). I don’t know how many teachers were working abroad in the 1960s, but today more than 9,000 teachers work in over 190 schools in American military bases both in the U.S. and abroad. These schools span over a dozen countries around the world (and seven states in the U.S.), enrolling almost 75,000 students at the elementary and high school level.

Mr. Benanti made a deep and lasting impression on my life. He offered inspiration, not just instruction. His teaching was purposeful and intentional, like an arrow shooting right for our hearts and minds, straight and true. I believe now, looking back, the tremendous effort he put into his work was because he truly loved his students. He admired each and every one of us, taking time to draw out all our “idiosyncrasies,” as he called them, helping us to see them and be more aware of ourselves but in a caring and thoughtful way. He had a booming voice and dramatic presence which he used to his advantage to get and keep our attention. He was a master of humor and played it like a card shark, dealing us delicious little tidbits of funniness when needed, and stern reprimands when we slacked off. I adored him. He was so kind to me, his criticisms always tailored and caring. Understanding was his biggest gift, falling over our shoulders like a warm coat when our little worlds went out off-kilter, as they so often did.

I knew him as a teacher but he also had a whole life of his own in Vicenza. He and his wife Eleanor (sadly deceased) lived in a castle, the Villa Scola Camerini in Creazzo, known to its residents as the Castello. The original property belonged to a Count Scola, who in 1600 undertook a major renovation and expansion. The architect Otto Calderari made further changes at the end of the 18th century, but between 1850 and 1870 a new architectural intervention, reflecting the eclectic tastes of the period, gave the castle an aspect of neo-Guelph. However, the 18th century park and gardens with statues and decorations remained unchanged.

The marvelous castle and gardens were occupied by a number of Americans, living in seven separate “apartments.” One resident was Mike Mullen, a retired military broadcaster who lived there with his wife Barbara for ten years. He wrote this in a blog dated June 10, 2013: 

I don’t remember this story, but it says a lot about the cast of characters at the Castello. The Benantis hosted many wonderful parties, like an annual Christmas party and a summer “Wine and Roses” celebration in the garden. Mike also wrote about Mr. Benanti’s dedication to the castle’s upkeep, gardening and maintenance of the old stone walls, apparently an endless task. 

Sadly, we had to leave Vicenza in 1966 but returned to visit many times, especially when my father was posted to Stuttgart, Germany in the 1970s. The Benanti’s never had children but they did have these darling terriers. Mr. Benanti trained them to sit on the long marble staircase and perform as we doubled over in laughter. 

In 2003 I made my own return visit, taking my son Will for his first trip to Italy. I could not wait to introduce him to what I think of as my real home, and have him meet my Italian friends. The trip was also an opportunity to visit Mr. Benanti. He invited us to stay for a few days at the Castello. Here we are, on our first day, enjoying a bottle of prosecco in the Rose Garden and the views of Vicenza.

I rented a car (one tiny, smart Mercedes) and the three of us went to Marostica, Bassano, and Asolo and enjoyed fantastic dinners at local trattorias. All too soon it was time to leave and go back to Venice where our Italy trip had started. Will came back wishing we could turn around and I came back wishing I could turn the clock to the days when I was known as Heidi, living in a beautiful villa on top of Monte Berico and having a teacher like Mr. Benanati. I spoke to him a few months ago and he’s doing well, hanging out in South Carolina, hitting golf balls off his back porch.

Each time I pick up my pen I think of him. I hear his deep voice intoning his singsong penmanship guide, “curve up, straight down, curve up, straight down”; how he forgave me for holding my pen incorrectly and let me do it my way. How he understood I was, at heart, a daydreamer and would probably never change – he was right. How he thought then, when I was a little girl in his class, I was beautiful, intelligent and charming because he told me so in a letter when I got married. Going back to see him was as if nothing had changed: he was the same teacher, standing tall at the head of the classroom, capturing our attention with his broad smile and a glint of total merriment in his eyes.

***

Note: The Baronessa Diamantina Scola-Camerini sold the Castello in 2006. It is now a hotel, airbnb and event venue. They don't seem to have a website but a Facebook page. If you go to Vicenza, you can stay at the Castello and share some of my memories.