The Glory of Italy   “For 30 years under the Borgias, they had murder and terror but produced Michelangelo, Leornardo and the Renaissance.  In Switzerland, they had 500 year of democracy and peace—and what did they produce?  The cuckoo clock.”  Harry Lime Vulnerability   Italians have been victims of invasion and domination—Arabs and Spaniards (in the south), Goths (Germans) and French in the north.  It has had a brutal effect on their national psyche, especially … more →

Here’s a pitch I made to St. Stephen’s School today for a service learning project. Proposal for Putting a Face to Poverty, a journalistic series (starting with a trial article/poster) Goals Convey empathy and compassion: Personalize poverty and the impoverished in the St. Stephen’s community; make it real by putting a face and story to it Teach critical thinking: Understand that poverty — its causes and solutions to address it — are complex Improve writing: … more →

Today is a sobering day, not just because Becky returned to California and Charlie’s flight from Crete was cancelled. In the morning, after Bruno picked up Becky, I left Casa di Alice to explore. Rain clouds gone, the sun arrived, startlingly bright, but with a cold wind like a slap. In the first block after my apartment, I ran into the first begger, an African man, or at least a man of African descent, in … more →