Only a short time ago...shorter than the skirts these "foreign studies students" are wearing, they didn't even have as much skin as they are showing tonight!
More street merchants, fewer kids with cups.
Cobblestones are cheap. Both price-wise and installation. But, they are not friendly to anything trying to move across them. Such as wheels, feet or backs!
The last time I spent this much time in Rome I didn't eat pizza for six months upon return...and there is no Santarpio's in Florida!
A man and his wife sitting on their balcony, another leaning out his window...watching and listening to life-Paradise!
Kids here are surrounded by wild, demonstrative, unconditional love.
If any of my old English teachers happen upon this...Death by blog???????????
I'm not doing a damned thing, just sitting, enjoying life. What more is there to say?
All of you stateside are sitting there saying, "Who the hell is this?" Your Father, your brother, your friend the one you don't know as well as you thought.
I've known one since I was 13, the other perhaps longer. While I sit here jotting these notes and trying to recover from another of life's unexpected twists, one sits in rehab over 6000 miles distant trying to get through his own problems. And, the other, even more distant is , ironically doing the same thing as I am jotting things down. Good luck to all three of us.
This is my on line "Collector's Cabinet". It is non-profit and haphazard at best. I leave it to you to sort through and make sense of.The views are mine. The collection reflects some of my interests. But the material must be credited to the vast internet. Otherwise, I never would have been able to amass such a treasure trove. The purpose of this exercise is entertainment, naturally mine, but even more so yours. So, please let me know if anything strikes a chord with you.
Thursday, June 6, 2013
Yesterday, when I was young.
Only cowboys wore guns.
Toys were made from metal and actually got handed down to the next in line.
If you had a dog you didn't walk behind him picking up his leavings. After all he was the dumb animal.
If you bought something you expected it to work properly...for a long time.
You could find fresh, ripe, delicious fruit and vegetables. And, just like oil, milk, bread, coal and ice someone delivered to you.
A triple feature was three consecutive movies costing as little as $.25.
A Saturday afternoon matinee involved those same film cowboys chasing film Indians. With an episode of the current serial tossed in...and cartoons, of course.
Jules Verne spawned a thing called "Science Fiction", which, of course, is now all fact.
Cigarettes were cheap, life expectancy short...go figure!
Once again there was a war to end all wars.
When you wrote some one,............skip it you wouldn't understand.
Cars and planes had fins.
Gas was $.12 per gal.
Politicians were.......Mother said, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything!".............
Toys were made from metal and actually got handed down to the next in line.
If you had a dog you didn't walk behind him picking up his leavings. After all he was the dumb animal.
If you bought something you expected it to work properly...for a long time.
You could find fresh, ripe, delicious fruit and vegetables. And, just like oil, milk, bread, coal and ice someone delivered to you.
A triple feature was three consecutive movies costing as little as $.25.
A Saturday afternoon matinee involved those same film cowboys chasing film Indians. With an episode of the current serial tossed in...and cartoons, of course.
Jules Verne spawned a thing called "Science Fiction", which, of course, is now all fact.
Cigarettes were cheap, life expectancy short...go figure!
Once again there was a war to end all wars.
When you wrote some one,............skip it you wouldn't understand.
Cars and planes had fins.
Gas was $.12 per gal.
Politicians were.......Mother said, "If you don't have anything good to say, don't say anything!".............
Monday, June 3, 2013
So...what's up Doc?
A new fork in the road? A new crossroads? You can never tell, Given that,how do you make a decision? If you knew what would lay along your path the decision would be much easier. The end remains the same, regardless, only time is affected. Some of these decisions are without thought or cause...a wave that you ride until it crests. Then you can only hope.
Right now I seem to be riding one of those waves. When it crests I will be facing the proverbial question...what's up Doc?, or what next? I'm thinking that that the crest is about two years away. But, not having a plan "B" or"C" worries me.
This trip was intended to accomplish several things. Many of these aims have been and are still being fulfilled. Grace's last wishes, to enjoy life, to be among caring friends, to see, to do, to participate in life are ongoing, daily events. Only time is going to answer "what's next?".
I had hoped to add some beauty to my life and I believe I have been more than successful there. A portrait is in the process right now. I have had a couple of my photos reinterpreted in black and white acrylic. Lastly, there is a stunning Tamara Lempicka repro that I had painted. My walls in Florida will not lack for color.
As to the positive approach...it's still a work in progress! I will use all the time allowed!
Surprises abound, people realize your feelings and respond. Happily it has occurred again. I, once again, love this place!
The path continues and when the next turn nears this will be my simple guide...
Only you can bring your own happiness!
Right now I seem to be riding one of those waves. When it crests I will be facing the proverbial question...what's up Doc?, or what next? I'm thinking that that the crest is about two years away. But, not having a plan "B" or"C" worries me.
This trip was intended to accomplish several things. Many of these aims have been and are still being fulfilled. Grace's last wishes, to enjoy life, to be among caring friends, to see, to do, to participate in life are ongoing, daily events. Only time is going to answer "what's next?".
I had hoped to add some beauty to my life and I believe I have been more than successful there. A portrait is in the process right now. I have had a couple of my photos reinterpreted in black and white acrylic. Lastly, there is a stunning Tamara Lempicka repro that I had painted. My walls in Florida will not lack for color.
As to the positive approach...it's still a work in progress! I will use all the time allowed!
Surprises abound, people realize your feelings and respond. Happily it has occurred again. I, once again, love this place!
The path continues and when the next turn nears this will be my simple guide...
Only you can bring your own happiness!
Sunday, June 2, 2013
I'm Walking
I love big cities, taking pictures and I get up early enough to enjoy the best hours of the day. All by it's self that should be enough, but I have always been a walker. Sure, no one has to tell me to slow down anymore, but the walk is still a big part of me.
Early morning photos are great because of the wonderful light and the lack of traffic and people. They also worked well For Grace and me as we could look for the two or three shots that most interested her and go from there.
Now I am back in the city we love and out on the prowl again. The shots will go back to the states with me and show up here in the future. My list of places and shots include some that I want to revisit and some that I have done yet. There will be a lot and the volume should keep me working for quite a while, at least I hope so.
There was a time when I was thinking that my walks were simply me looking for the reason to stop. Not true. I just needed to return here to know that. As long as there is a corner I haven't turned I will not be completely happy. Just naturally curious...that's me!
I stopped being a teenager fifty years ago and have been stuck in the "growing-up" phase ever since...I don't know if I'll ever complete that phase, but it's the hunt that interests me NOT the end!
Early morning photos are great because of the wonderful light and the lack of traffic and people. They also worked well For Grace and me as we could look for the two or three shots that most interested her and go from there.
Now I am back in the city we love and out on the prowl again. The shots will go back to the states with me and show up here in the future. My list of places and shots include some that I want to revisit and some that I have done yet. There will be a lot and the volume should keep me working for quite a while, at least I hope so.
There was a time when I was thinking that my walks were simply me looking for the reason to stop. Not true. I just needed to return here to know that. As long as there is a corner I haven't turned I will not be completely happy. Just naturally curious...that's me!
I stopped being a teenager fifty years ago and have been stuck in the "growing-up" phase ever since...I don't know if I'll ever complete that phase, but it's the hunt that interests me NOT the end!
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Time keeps on tickin"...
You look down and see the perfection of time and orderly progression. Fabrizio, Franca, Sonia have all learned from their Mothers, Fathers, Uncles and every predecessor in their families. Nothing is put in a place without thought and reason. You won't see this. You aren't expected to. This is a visual for you to admire and select from...not ponder over.
We used to have this in the USA. I grew up with this concept in Boston...Scollay Square, Fanuel Hall. Open carts with fresh fruit and vegetables stacked and waiting for your selection. Surprise we went there because...the food was better...the PRICE was better and it was fun! These markets were all run by immigrants, many Italian and the do not exist now. Supermarkets won. Huge red tomatoes! Spectacular huge pears! Monumental mounds of Green beans! Bland! Bland!...and even more bland! Not to mention hard as a brick and just as tasty! Supermarkets won...we did not!
The kiosks in the "gentrified" Fanuel Hall sell tchochke's...yiddish for junk trinkets. The same trash we gave the Indians for Manhattan, only now we buy it and it's from China! Just one more ode to progress!
I much prefer the product right in front of me here in the Campo dei Fiori, fresh, succulent and delicious. With a big side dish of tradition. And, I get to watch a part of life that is only visable in an occasional "Farmer's Market" back in the states. Tradition, care and thought, winners in my heart.
We used to have this in the USA. I grew up with this concept in Boston...Scollay Square, Fanuel Hall. Open carts with fresh fruit and vegetables stacked and waiting for your selection. Surprise we went there because...the food was better...the PRICE was better and it was fun! These markets were all run by immigrants, many Italian and the do not exist now. Supermarkets won. Huge red tomatoes! Spectacular huge pears! Monumental mounds of Green beans! Bland! Bland!...and even more bland! Not to mention hard as a brick and just as tasty! Supermarkets won...we did not!
The kiosks in the "gentrified" Fanuel Hall sell tchochke's...yiddish for junk trinkets. The same trash we gave the Indians for Manhattan, only now we buy it and it's from China! Just one more ode to progress!
I much prefer the product right in front of me here in the Campo dei Fiori, fresh, succulent and delicious. With a big side dish of tradition. And, I get to watch a part of life that is only visable in an occasional "Farmer's Market" back in the states. Tradition, care and thought, winners in my heart.
Sports nut
As a life-long sports nut here is the first thing you learn...perseverance! Doesn't your team always seem to have more trouble to overcome? Aren't your players always overcoming horrible injuries? Isn't your owner the worst?
Sempre,sempre,sempre! And yet we are always there, cheering.
Gallows humor aside, sports does teach us several things including perseverance. Discernment is one. You need to be able to pick the right player, the right moment, the right move...you have to choose quickly and correctly. Otherwise...you lose!
Cooperation is another learned trait. Every person thinks the sun revolves around them...it begins at birth. You need to unthink that one because it isn't true and everything in life will be easier for you once you understand and believe that simple fact. Most tight knit teams will win over more talented teams. Exceptions occur. IF the talented team is also tight knit they will be almost invincible!
How to compete. No one wins every time. Learning to use discernment and perseverance plus a big addition of talent will let you be in the fight to the end. Life is the sport that each of us HAS to compete in. Choosing the wrong battle or trying to do it alone will pretty much confine you to being a loser. Try to find the game you enjoy. Some pay better, but if you hate it you will still end up losing. If nothing else a part of yourself.
Go Sox! Go Pats!
Sempre,sempre,sempre! And yet we are always there, cheering.
Gallows humor aside, sports does teach us several things including perseverance. Discernment is one. You need to be able to pick the right player, the right moment, the right move...you have to choose quickly and correctly. Otherwise...you lose!
Cooperation is another learned trait. Every person thinks the sun revolves around them...it begins at birth. You need to unthink that one because it isn't true and everything in life will be easier for you once you understand and believe that simple fact. Most tight knit teams will win over more talented teams. Exceptions occur. IF the talented team is also tight knit they will be almost invincible!
How to compete. No one wins every time. Learning to use discernment and perseverance plus a big addition of talent will let you be in the fight to the end. Life is the sport that each of us HAS to compete in. Choosing the wrong battle or trying to do it alone will pretty much confine you to being a loser. Try to find the game you enjoy. Some pay better, but if you hate it you will still end up losing. If nothing else a part of yourself.
Go Sox! Go Pats!
2:00 A M
Where are your children?
Standing in an alley in Rome, beside his retching friend...trying to make a call, to make a buy!
Standing in an alley in Rome, she is drunk, telling someone else that he has a problem!
Standing in an alley in Rome, saying, "I just want to be cool"!
There is no "Street smart for dummies" course that I know of, damned shame about that, most American kids (and these were all Americans) really need one. Pampered from birth to college and released into the wilds, they don't have a clue.
Yes, I grew up in a different time and in a big city environment, but no one EVER admits to a weakness or Shows it...you might as well paint a bulls-eye on your chest. Letting go of your child is the hardest thing a parent can do, but to allow them to be so totally unprepared is almost criminal.
Unfortunately this is a recurring event, which I can only be unhappy with and disgusted by. So, as I have heard before, "I am sorry for your troubles", because you have or will have them! How can I be so sure...read the title again!
Standing in an alley in Rome, beside his retching friend...trying to make a call, to make a buy!
Standing in an alley in Rome, she is drunk, telling someone else that he has a problem!
Standing in an alley in Rome, saying, "I just want to be cool"!
There is no "Street smart for dummies" course that I know of, damned shame about that, most American kids (and these were all Americans) really need one. Pampered from birth to college and released into the wilds, they don't have a clue.
Yes, I grew up in a different time and in a big city environment, but no one EVER admits to a weakness or Shows it...you might as well paint a bulls-eye on your chest. Letting go of your child is the hardest thing a parent can do, but to allow them to be so totally unprepared is almost criminal.
Unfortunately this is a recurring event, which I can only be unhappy with and disgusted by. So, as I have heard before, "I am sorry for your troubles", because you have or will have them! How can I be so sure...read the title again!
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