The Little Devil

"Il Piccolo Diavolo" a fitting nickname for Paul. Don't you think?

The Little Devil  (original Italian name Il piccolo diavolo) is a 1988 Italian film directed by and starring Roberto Benigni and Walter Matthau.

I met Paul when I first arrived at backpacker Billabong in Perth.
We had long and animated conversations about a variety of subjects. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Paul could debate about: management, history, psychology, cultures, politics, etc. From Paul I learned a lot about the recent history of Ireland. He and his family live in the southern part of Ireland, the Catholic portion of the country. He told me several anecdotes concerning the ever present eye of the Catholic Church, and how the church managed to have a strong grip and control over the population.

Paul worked in the family business during the last 16 years. His father ran the shop with a strong hand, and  kept his commitments to customers. He would work through the night to be able to complete a job, promised for the following morning.

At some point Paul disappeared from the backpacker where we both were staying, for a couple weeks. When he returned we scheduled a formal interview so that I could have material to focus my writing on his life, personality, and his plans for the future.

We had the interview as planned. We talked for a long time, I asked a lot of questions, but I must say that I learned very little about Paul himself. Faced with a pointed question about his life and his personality he would provide extensive replies on the life of bees, the moon influence on growing grass indoors, the price of beer in New Zealand, and how to deal with a drunk Irish. The conversation was quite pleasant and informative, but his answers were just a bit off focus.

If I recall correctly, Paul was planning to leave Australia and go for a period of time in Thailand. Of course this was seven months ago. When you are young and dynamic lots of things can happen in seven months. If I hear from Paul I will provide the latest news about his whereabouts, right in this blog.
Take care of yourself Paul, and good luck.