[First, draft profile by the students I am advising at St. Stephen’s School. Great work from five budding journalists. Thanks to Kelly Worcester for kicking me in the butt a bit to make this happen.] Putting a Face on Poverty A blog dedicated to interviews with the impoverished men and women that we have passed in the street everyday until now. On Saturday the 28th March we met with Vasco, a Bulgarian man who moved … more
Ciao Mike In my last newsletter, we talked about opera, an art form largely invented (and certainly perfected) by the Italians in the 17th century. Now I’d like to mention a more recent art form that, while usually associated with the US, has unique place in Italian culture, as well. The movies produced by American film companies in Hollywood are famous around the world for their big budgets and star-filled casts. Italy, and indeed the … more
Loved, loved my dinner of fresh ravioli with pesto and antipasti with George, Yolanda, and Wendell at Casa di Alice. Two guys who have shared large life moments — my wedding, my 40th at Sea Studios, my 50th in Crete, our amazing weekend on Santa Cruz Island, and now Rome. With eternal thanks. Brunello courtesy of Jim Moroney.
New friends Jenny Moroney, daughter of Jim and Barbara, student in Florence; and Travis Breier, son of Mark and Ronda, student in Amsterdam finding themselves in Rome, at our apartment, on the same weekend, with the stars aligning for views of the Vatican and a mystery statue on the way to the Spanish Steps. Unbeknownst to Jenny and Travis, and maybe to their parents, Mark, Jim, and I had dinner together in 2000 when Mark … more
Hanging in Rome with college buddy George Politis. Arrived today from Ethiopia where as a member of the Operation Smile surgical team he fixed children’s cleft plates and perhaps more importantly helped train Ethiopian doctors to do the same. So delighted he could swing by Rome on his way back to the U.S. Photos from our stop at the Pantheon and Piazza Venezia.
Epic seafood meal last night at Ristorante Eleonora D’Arborea with Ken, Nancy, and Matthew Goldsholl, Travis Breier (visiting from Amsterdam), and Charlie. One of our best meals in Rome yet. Big thanks to the Goldsholls for making it happen (and to Ken for regularly reading my blog). (Photo of sign in the elevator of Goldsholl’s hotel seemed a perfect reflection of my friend Ken.)
Yes, it’s pouring today, blustery, stormy. And when it rains … Travis Breier writes. He’s coming into Rome tomorrow, Thursday, seeking advice and an empty couch. No problem, except … A few days ago, Barbara Moroney wrote. Her daughter Jenny is coming into Rome on Friday, seeking advice and an empty couch. Delighted to meet and host her. But she has first dibs on the couch. Actually she has first dibs on Charlie’s bed, and … more
Here you can find the story: 8th sept 1943 armistice of Cassibile, the darkest page of Italian war history, the coward escape from Rome of the king of Italy, who was the head of the Italian army, and Badoglio, the prime minister with their families and entourage. The Italian army left without orders, the largest navy in Europe in La Spezia without orders moving from the ports to join the south under the fire of … more
My friend Paolo Libri posted this to Facebook: Per il mio amico Michael DeLapa: Really, there are times when the ubiquitous and logic network of causal sequences gives up, astonished by life, and steps down in the pit, mingling among the public, to let on stage, under the lights of the soaring and sudden freedom, an invisible hand drawing in the infinite womb of possible and, among millions of things, one will let happen. (A. … more
It is a common notion among foreigners that Italians enjoy life more than the rest of us. But that isn’t exactly accurate, nor is the point. I think it would be closer to the truth to say that Italians appreciate life more than the rest us. The good, the bad, and everything in between; they really immerse themselves in it fully. Which reminds me of a night last summer when I finally saw my first … more