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 […]
Tag: The Face
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 […]
5. To Stay or To Go
As a young, newly-married man in southern Italy, my father became a tenant farmer. He rented a large plot of land from a prominent member of a patrician family based near Florence. With only a zappa (a wide-bladed hoe), my dad, joined by his brothers and a couple of day laborers, cleared roots, grasses, weeds, […]
4. A Tap on the Shoulder
A buddy of mine whom I’ve known since I was very small was hospitalized a few day ago. He just died of the virus that’s ravaging the Earth. Another friend is on a respirator, in the fight of her life against cancer. In the last 10 years or so I’ve lost many friends and cousins […]
3. Crossed-Signals, Misunderstandings, and Other Illusions
Have you ever been fond of a song that you Thought you knew the lyrics to, only to find out – sometimes years later – that the words were not quite how you sang them? I was on a snack run with some friends when the Stevie Nicks song Stand Back played over the store’s […]
2. On the Road to …
My sister was driving me in her old cinquecento (Fiat 500) to a new doctor in Naples, and she was unfamiliar with the city. She had never driven there, and if you know Naples, you know how big, congested, and confusing it is. I’ve never driven, so the best I could do was read the […]
ANTON CIRCLES HIS WORLD 