The old Chinese lady is happily living in the square, and the Italian uncle is pointing the country on the construction site. At every construction site in Italy, there is always a group of stubborn old people with their hands behind their backs, gathering together to observe, discuss and criticize various projects.
Volunteer supervision on the construction site is a national pastime for Italian male retirees. Their enthusiasm for road engineering is the highest in the world, just as Chinese aunts have no other love for square dancing. They wandered on the streets looking for construction sites that could be observed. They did not simply look at the excitement, but physically checked the construction, raised questions, made suggestions, and criticized the progress.
They are called Umarell, a term specifically referring to retirees who spend time looking at construction sites. Wikipedia stated that they “especially love road engineering, usually with their hands behind their backs and providing harmful advice.”
Every morning, they bid farewell to their wives and come to guard the construction site.
They held their hands behind their backs and lowered their heads, watching the work progress from the cracks in the wall. These pensioners are ready to raise their voices to provide guidance to architects and masons. But to be honest, the construction brother really does not need to stand up and talk without backache.
Seeing the construction site has truly become a national cultural phenomenon in Italy. Ask yourself, if someone stares at you all day, how much will your productivity increase? The 3D printed Umarell doll became the ultimate Christmas gift, obviously because it can have a positive impact on work efficiency.
No one knows where they came from and how they were notified of the start of work. No one knows why they would rather watch
Others work instead of watching TV or playing cards. They are close to the construction site, but they do not cross the boundary. The hands behind them show a certain hidden logic of social anthropology.
In the words of the Italians: “My dear God, it is addictive.” From the first day of retirement, many people travel to and from home and work day after day. It is nostalgic for the past, but also full of hope for the future.
As long as there is a construction site, there are people who stand outside the isolation fence and direct bulldozers, cranes, and pile drivers. Because every one of us has a little bit of the spirit of giving up and rebuke Fang Qiu in our soul. The most important thing is that the Italians chose to realize it when they were supposed to enjoy their old age.
The construction site is their cafe, People’s Park and Senate. They are here to exchange information, discuss news, and the most important issue-supervision. The elders gave a stern, judicial gaze to the progress of the project, and the scene was like a poetic surrealist play.
The older construction scout was full of pride and glory in his memory. Today, this phenomenon has become part of the collective imagination. The Umarells smartphone application was created to allow you to easily find all construction sites in the city and arrive in time. It will become a public comment in the construction site industry.
The word Umarell has officially entered the Italian dictionary. The 2021 edition of the authoritative Zingarelli Dictionary includes this new term, allowing it to transcend dialects and orthodox cultural boundaries.
As the definition of the word in the dictionary reveals, the old Italian overseer is anchored in concrete actions, not abstract features.
They patrolled the construction site, stared at the work of others, muttered to themselves, and walked with their hands behind their backs. These explanations of the characters can almost feel lifelike even those who are not present.
Yes, you can’t expect every retired person to master the knowledge behind engineering, city planning skills, choice of pipeline materials, let alone a comprehensive understanding of the construction industry. But what they can do is to count the number of trucks in and out to ensure that materials are delivered according to receipts and to prevent theft when unattended.
Many of them live in the suburbs, but they would rather get up early and take the bus to the city center in order to urge the project to be completed on schedule with a torch look. They ran away from their wives, rushed to the excavator, and gave the workers some guidance in order to enjoy the peace of mind in the group of scholars.
As early as 15 years ago, Danilo Masotti, a writer from Bologna, began to record old people who spontaneously oversee all over Italy, and then converted his observations into two books. At that time, he described it like this: “These retired people have nothing to do all day. By interfering or helping others, they feel useful to prove their existence. They are everywhere. Just pay attention and you will I saw them at every construction site.”
The patrolling elders were calm and calm, as if the worker bees were attracted by nectar, they were deeply hypnotized by the roar of the machines on the construction site. They stayed there all day until it started to rain. Then they leave. But they will come back eventually. In my opinion, this is the essence of eating melon.
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