THIS WONDERFUL LIFE

"It is good for us, I think, to keep as much joy in life as we can.

We busy ourselves with so many things that are not of the heart and spirit. We worry about money, we agonize over the terrible state of the world, we fret at household duties or business minutiae, we work, we argue, we squander our strength in a million ways.

And all the time the wonder of life is around us, the ecstasy of breathing air ravished by apple blossoms, of walking on fern-cooled driftways, of listening to young leaves moving in the moonlight, and seeing the twilight stars in the violet bowl of the sky.

There is enough joy in one spring day to furnish forth the world, if we but knew it."

-Gladys Tabor

FLORENCE + THE INCREDIBLE LEGS

TO ROME

My Dear Roma,

So your food, wine, and scenery were no less than BAD TO THE ASSK. I have never felt more alive than tossing my heart’s desire into the Trevi Fountain.
But we all know I am a people person. I love people in all shapes, forms and fashions. I love meeting people and learning about people and watching people. I love shaking a new hand as much as I love Rughetta pizza. So Dear Rome, my most favorite part about you? Your peeps of course. What I brought home from Italy that I love the most is: Julia, Ewan, Marco, Chiara, Tiziana, Andre, and all the rest of you whose names I cannot spell.

So it goes a little something like this:

Me: Do not go out alone after dark.

Me: I am somehow missing the Italian merriment I dreamt of. Where’s all the yelling and obnoxious laughter?

Me: Do not go out alone after dark.

Me: Is there a little pub close that would be safe for me to go to alone after dark?
Hotel Bartender: Yes, just down the street. Tree Folk’s.

Me: Just walk by. If you feel safe, stop in for a beer.

And the rest is history. I spent New Year’s Eve in front of Tree Folk’s with all of the people listed above and watched fireworks over the Coloseum. I kissed a lot of cheeks and WHOOPED it up Italian style. And I made, what I believe will be, lifelong friends. Be afraid, Spearman. Be very afraid. I anticipate a gang of Italians stomping on your ground before summer’s end.