I’m about to reveal something revolutionary, so pay attention: in my home, I am the chief cook. My wife does all right, but she calls me “an artist in the kitchen.” Growing up in Italy, I was never expected to do much around the house, let alone in the kitchen. There were two reasons for […]
Tag: Johnny Moon and the Black Dog Queen
18. Friendships Are Treasure
I never gave much thought to the nature of friendship. If I got along with someone, if we had things to talk or joke about, and if we seemed pleased to see each other, to me, that was a friendship. Since moving away from Italy and settling in the U.S., I have come to examine […]
17. Life Choices
I am not one to quote scripture, but I like this from the Gospel of Thomas (which is not part of the Bible): “If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will […]
16. Being Lost
We have all gotten lost at one time or another. It usually happens when we are in a location that is completely unfamiliar. We may be looking for a particular address or a street that will lead us back in the direction we want. A hiker may be looking for a trail that leads out […]
12. Sickly Green
Envy is described as a grudge fueled by the coveting of someone else’s qualities, possessions, or stature in life. Envy probably has existed for as long as humans have. Remember Cain and Abel? And, while coveting is prohibited in the Ten Commandments, since about the Third Century A.D., envy has been known as one of […]
11. When the Past Finds You
Every now and then the past – in the form of a person – catches up with us. When it does, will the experience be nostalgic, embarrassing, or poignant? My wife’s first trip to Montréal was memorable in many ways. She went as part of a group of students organized by their college’s French Department, […]
10. The North/South Divide
As an Italian national who lives outside of Italy, I am like an eagle in an aerie, able to watch what is happening throughout my homeland. And let me admit, right off the bat, that I am biased in favor of my beloved Southern Italy. I’m not the first to notice that one effect of […]
8. How Many Homes?
One phenomenon of living in the U.S. that has struck me is how mobile its people are. In particular, I am amazed at how often people move from one home to another. In the U.S. there is a strong sense that changing homes is a forward motion, a progression. In Italy, particularly in the south, […]
7. Chicken
My mother kept chickens on our farm for many years. They provided us with fresh eggs every day and the occasional Sunday main course. Our farm was at the foot of a mountain on which sits a famous religious sanctuary. Quite a few visitors from others parts of Italy and beyond used to drive up […]
6. The Florence Caper
On our first trip to Rome as a married couple, we took a city bus to visit my aunt and uncle in a part of the city that was unfamiliar to me. When we descended from the bus, we were unsure of where to find the street we needed (this was on the eve of […]