I Have Returned

    Well, it has only been a little over 10 years since I last posted here. I am now writing from the small town of Biancavilla, just outside of Catania Sicily. I have mixed feelings about starting this up again, and finally decided to give it a try primarily for something to keep me busy from time to time. I started this in 2011 in conjunction with a month sabbatical to Rome (with a week side trip to Sicily.) That was a magical life changing trip and I wrote at the end of each day as a way of processing the experiences of the day. It was good fun, and I enjoyed the comments it engendered. My hesitations now are that I don't see how I can duplicate that experience. And, similar to back then, I really don't know what I have to say of any value or whether anyone would have any interest in my thoughts and ramblings. Also, I feel a bit more inhibited now in what I say, not for any particular reason, and I don't really want to censor myself. But, I landed on giving this a shot, primarily for myself. I don't really have a purpose or much to do here other than sightsee and enjoy the food and drink. I'm not complaining. I decided it doesn't matter whether anyone else ever reads it or finds it of any interest. And, I plan on just writing my thoughts and impressions from this new and entirely different experience for me. Last time was more about recording what I was up to each day. Karen, (who was kind enough to let me tag along on this journey) is doing her own blog and is recording our daily activities. I don't want to repeat that other than to write of my own impressions of things. So, that's sort of where I'm going with this, if it makes any sense to anyone.

     How did I get here, and what is going on? Thanks to Karen, who's wish is to know someone in every city, she was invited here by Elena and her husband Giuseppe to help with their two-year old son. They wish to raise him bi-lingually, speaking both Italian and English. Elena is fluent in English having studied in Milan and than as a transfer student to UW Madison. Elena became friends with Karen's niece at UW and niece and Elena ended up at Karen's to speak Italian and eat an Italian meal. Flash forward a few years, and Elena now back home in Biancavilla gave birth to Ettore. She then reached out to Karen with an offer to come to Biancavilla and spend a year teaching Ettore. An offer that couldn't be refused. But, then Covid . . .. And, now a year and a half later, the plans came together. There were too many hoops to jump through to get a one year visa, so we settled on being here 90 days, back in states 90 days and back here in spring for another stint, unless we figure something else out. 

     We arrived here beginning of November and are now pretty settled in. Elena and family are providing us with great accommodations, and the use of a car. They live in a beautiful 4 story place with four generations of family here. Nonno Giuseppe (you can yell Giuseppe on a street corner here, and at least 20 guys will stop and turn around) Has the subfloor unit. Elena's brother, wife and two daughters have the first floor. Elena's mother and father have the second floor, and Elena, Giuseppe and Ettore are on the third floor. The top level which includes kitchen, porch, dining, living area and foyer has been provided to us. We also have a master bedroom suite with bath on level one. So, that's a brief background to bring things sort of up to date. I'll add more later. 

     (I wrote all of the above about a month ago, and never published this. Still was having second thoughts about jumping back into this. I've been doing a lot of reading with the thme I have here, all novels of various sorts. One, was a recent Stephen King novel, "Billy Summers," and the main character embarks on a writing project. He realizes that no one will probably ever read what he wrote, and a quote from this character caught my attentiion. He asks if it really matters what he writes knowing no one may read it, and he says: “It does,” Billy says to the window. “Because it’s mine.” Even after reading that, I still wasn't ready to restart this. But, in the middle of last night, lying awake, I came to the decsion that I do want an outlet to write my thoughts, if for no other reason than to just get them out of my head and to have a voice, whether anyone reads this or not. And, with that, here I go. As the Duke of Wellington once reportedly said: "Publish and be damned!")