Italy, going to the dogs, cats and cows

We saw scooters every where--women zipping around in high heels and mini-skirts, children, groups, and dogs. What we didn't see were traffic lights.

Positano pup at the gas station
Isle of Capri cow
Orvieto kitty day 8
Orvieto kitty day 11
Orvieto cats
Orvieto dogs

The cheapest car to drive

is the one you own (paid for). My 2002 Dodge minivan will do just fine, thank you. Even if I were to sell it, they go for about $6,000 now, and a new crossover or hybrid would probably cost about $35,000 and only get 4-5 more miles to the gallon. I'd have to be driving 10x more than I do now to ever make that pay. In 2006 I think Consumer Reports estimated 5-6 years before the additional costs of a hybrid could be made up in fuel savings. And yes, they factored in rising gasoline costs. Whether they factored in the loss on what else that money could be doing, I don't know. This is my third Chrysler van--I love them. The seats are a perfect fit for mine. Ford and GM have discontinued their minivans. I hope Chrysler doesn't.

My beloved van enjoying the summer at the lakehouse.

Italy, Day 7 through 11, Umbria and Orvieto, Cathedral

There are probably hundreds of wonderful medium size towns where you could rent a flat for a few months and enjoy the riches of Italian culture, but for me, I'd choose Orvieto. You can turn down a street and be in medieval times, or ride down the mountain on a cable car and be in modern times. It has good access to the autostrada and enjoys public transportation. You could take the train to other towns for alternate cultures and experiences. At our wonderful 19th c. hotel, there was a group of art students from SMU finishing up a month's study. In addition to a wonderful farmers' market, there are small deli's and groceries with modern products. And the art and restaurants! Oh, my. Fabulous.







The Cathedral of Orvieto was built beginning in 1290 on the foundation of an older cathedral which was built on an Etruscan temple. It developed over a period of centuries, so although it was begun as Romanesque, it became Gothic and numerous architects, sculptors and artists worked on it over the years in marble, stone, glass, mosaic, and bronze. The window is attributed to Orcagna (Andrea de Cione). The four piers around the doors depict Biblical stories, beginning with the creation, moving to Messianic prophecy, then Christ's life, then finally the last judgment and Hell. Quite vivid, I might add. Glass panels have been added to protect the art from vandalism.

Hospitals--don't go there

My recent two day stay in a modern, metropolitan hospital, covered by my excellent insurance (although it will still cost me a bundle), has convinced me again there is never a good or safe time to be there if what you have isn't life threatening (although how do you know?). I didn't go to the ER because I was an elderly, poor person with no insurance and no regular doctor; no, the doctor on call for my doctor said to go there when I told her I had severe diarrhea, a temperature over 102, was recently returned from Europe and was napping on the floor of the bathroom and having some A-fib. Silly me. I didn't think to take a pillow and blanket with me. I got to the ER about 7:30 p.m. and was finally in a hospital bed about 5:30 a.m. Thank goodness for Depends, because in ER, if you're not bleeding or throwing up on the staff, you wait. As it was, I just threw some of my clothes away.

Hospitals these days (my first stay since 2002) are high tech, high touch. We had to go through a security check to even enter the ER waiting room. My medical data was entered into rolling computers three difference times, and only the first one knew who my secondary emergency contact was--the other two times I had to provide the information. So even within the hospital, I didn't seem to be connected. But bar codes and RFID (radio frequency identification), and wi-fi were everywhere. No where in these computers was the information that I am right handed, so if an IV is strung up (with all the electronic, data rich, error prone tags), in the crook of my right arm, I will constantly be setting off an alarm that will beep its little heart out until someone arrives to see if I'm dying, scratching my nose, or trapped in the rest room.

One new feature, although I don't know if the info ever got back to my own doctor, was I had two different "hospitalists" from my own doctor's practice. So at least, they knew of him. Every staff member of the hospital, from RNs down to housekeeping, seemed to have been through a "make the patient feel loved" workshop. I never saw so many smiles or had such quick response to the alarm light (after leaving ER).

Each year there are 44,000-98,000 preventable deaths in hospitals, according to one report I read on an FDA site, and 5% of the patients in hospitals acquire an infection. Here's where technology fails. I saw a housekeeping person once in my room--not that they couldn't have slipped someone in while I was napping or at night when I was asleep. But that's what I saw. She smiled and ran a dust mop on the floor of the room. Didn't empty the trash, take the soiled laundry, or clean the bathroom. I used the wash cloths to clean the bathroom floor and commode myself--then threw them away. What came up on the cloth was just plain old dirt, not evidence of my illness. If that floor had seen any hot water and disinfectant, it must have been months ago. No one offered to bag my soiled street clothes so they were just thrown in a closet, where if I'd been contagious, the bacteria or virus awaited the next patient. I finally asked someone to remove the bathroom trash which was getting quite ripe. God knows when the last time the telephone mouthpiece and keypad or TV remote had been cleaned. When Pastor John visited, he pulled down the window screens to cut the glare--no one else noticed. But then, he sees dozens of hospital rooms a week.

A food service person (smiling and friendly) brought me a tray and menu for the day. With my left hand (very low tech stubby pencil and paper) I circled jello and hot tea, figuring that would be safe. (Why do they have patients decide this?) For dinner I received half a baked chicken, broccoli, salad, coffee and cake. All the hot food was contained in something plastic scuffed, scratched and faded that seemed to be shedding its heat absorbing materials. I'm not phobic about heating food in chemically ladened containers, but really, this equipment looked unsafe at any speed. A little stainless steel dish sitting on hot water might be preferable and easier to keep sanitized.

Even if you don't plan to stay (and I didn't), take your own medications to the ER. You might be admitted, and they'll never get it right. I had such a headache from dehydration I asked for an aspirin. After an hour, I asked again, and was brought 2 Tylenol and a baby aspirin (which is on my daily med list) in a paper cup and it was entered on the rolling computer screen, after checking my barcoded wrist and asking me my birthdate. I don't like Tylenol, but took it anyway, and just had 2 baby aspirin that day. One day they couldn't get my one prescription drug, so it had to be ordered--I'm sure the cost will be out of sight when I get the bill. And why do hospitals give adults chewable 81 mg aspirin when they are much more expensive than the low dose adult kind? I was potassium depleted, and the pills could have choked a horse, but it took me awhile to figure out they were easy to break in half even as weak as I was--no one else suggested it.

One alert, smiling RN, after resetting my IV data monitor numerous times (I left the hospital 10 lbs heavier than I went in), decided to move the IV to my left arm. The smiling young med tech who looked at least 15 was apparently not yet finished with his training, and this took several stabs attempts under her supervision and coaching, but she smiled throughout the whole ordeal and was sympathetic. (It really does help the patient's attitude.) When I could read the BP data, it looked like I was dead--something like 105 over 55; and the high tech thermometer never registered over 97 despite the fact I felt like I had a sunburn.

Hospitals. Don't go there unless you have to.

Roving with Obama

If there's anyone Dems hate more than George Bush, it's Karl Rove. But he's a good analyst. And to hear Dems tell it, he's the brains, heart and guts of George W. Bush, who's just an empty cowboy hat who has managed to fool all of them, so maybe they ought to give him a listen.

“Instead of consistency, Mr. Obama has followed Richard Nixon's advice, to cater to his party's extreme in the primaries and then move aggressively to the middle for the fall.

In the primary, Mr. Obama supported pulling out of Iraq within 16 months, called the D.C. gun ban constitutional, backed the subjection of telecom companies to expensive lawsuits for cooperating in the terror surveillance program, opposed welfare reform, pledged to renegotiate Nafta, disavowed free trade and was strongly against the death penalty in all cases. But in the past few weeks, Mr. Obama has reversed course on all of these, discarding fringe liberal views for relentlessly centrist positions. He also flip-flopped on accepting public financing and condemning negative ads from third party groups, like unions.

By taking Nixon's advice, Mr. Obama is assuming such dramatic reversals will somehow avoid voter scrutiny. But people are watching closely, and by setting a world indoor record for jettisoning past positions, Mr. Obama may be risking his reputation for truthfulness. A candidate's credibility, once lost, is very hard to restore, regardless of how fine an organization he has built.”

Barack's Brilliant Ground Game Obama's been moving so quickly to the center, it's difficult for conservative bloggers to keep up, even if we know he'll change course once in office.

Lakeside 2008 Plein Air Paintout

This week-end, July 11-13, Lakeside hosts the artists of the Ohio Plein Air Society (in the open air). Over forty artists are expected to be painting on the grounds and surrounding area on the Marblehead Peninsula. On Sunday paintings that were done this week-end will be for sale and an original oil by Jim White will be auctioned off to the highest bidder at 4 p.m. The art event coincides with the Fifth Annual Lakeside Wooden Boat Show.

Welcome artists, guests, and watchers

Jack Liberman of Akron finds a shady spot for a lakefront painting.

Capturing the crowd at Coffee and Cream from the shade of the marquee of the only movie theater in the county.
This artist has drawn some fans


Last year's paintout

Buy real food, instead of whining about prices

Here at Lakeside I'm spreading my food dollar around. I really like walking to the Erie Beach Market--small, limited choices, but nice meat and friendly staff. The Lakeside Farmers' Market on Tuesday was fun and offered great eats. The last two mornings I bought an apple and banana at the Coffee and Cream shop, we ate out at Crow's Nest with Wes and Sue last night and came back here for dessert and wine, saving us about $20; today I shopped at Bassett's (ca. 5 miles) for fresh items, and Wal-Mart for paper goods and soap. Yes, I'm helping the locals, shopping smart, and saving gas. At Bassett's I spent about $42 and got a small beef roast, ground chuck, 1/2 gal. milk, 1/2 gal. orange juice, pint of blue berries, 1 red pepper, 6 bananas, lettuce, carrots shredded, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, 2 loaves of bakery bread, 1 bake-at-home sausage and cheese fresh pizza, an onion, white grapes, sugar free cookies, chili sauce and a box of raisins. Food is a good deal if you don't put it in your gas tank or process it to empty calories.

This photo of Insalata Caprese is from Over a Tuscan Stove; absolutely wonderful yummies and stories there.

OK, just one whine. A medium coffee went from $1.80 to $2.00 today, so tomorrow, to make up the difference, I won't buy one. It's not nice to raise prices in mid-season.

Phil Gramm is right!

We are a nation of whiners. I've got a blog--I whine all the time about the left wing media, the poverty stories about people with 6 figure incomes, about health nuts who gobble vitamins and smoke, about limp, weak sermons, about loud music everywhere, about what my public library doesn't buy, and about the deep Marxist pockets funding the Obama campaign. Other people complain about high gasoline costs for their huge SUVs and light trucks, about how hot it is or how much it is raining or how cold it is, all because of anthropogenic climate change, or about Madonna and A-Rod. Yesterday I listened to a woman, a total stranger, about 15 minutes whine that today's young people (aka anyone under 40) don't have a sense of responsibility and litter too much. My husband whines about clogged gutters (too much rain) and the cost of fixing the bad tire on his bike. We're just very opinionated people and that leads to whining. But Americans are not clinging to guns and religion, that I know for sure (Obama's campaign whine).

"Arizona Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, distanced himself from some comments made by former Texas Sen. Phil Gramm, one of his economic advisers." Some newsagency.

We'll miss you, Andy

Our good friend and my husband's former partner and dearest friend died Sunday. He was born in Italy and was so thrilled we had the chance to visit. The guys visited shortly before he passed after we got home last week, and we were hoping, since he seemed better, that he would be able to return to his home on the east side of Columbus. Andy and Mary Frances had a sailboat up here docked at Port Clinton, and usually came to Lakeside for dinner and to hear the barbershoppers on Labor Day week-end. He was a dear, kind, gentle man, and a wonderful designer and artist. Many friends and former colleagues attended the visitation Wednesday and services on Thursday. In addition to his wife, he is survived by his daughter and two grandsons.

In Memoriam: Andrew J. Macioce

Andrew J. Macioce, formerly with the firm Feinknopf, Macioce & Schappa, age 79, passed away Sunday, July 6, 2008, at Mother Angeline McCrory Manor. Family will receive friends Wednesday 2-4 and 6-8 p.m. at the MAEDER-QUINT-TIBERI FUNERAL HOME, 1068 S. High St. Prayer service 6 p.m. Wednesday. Friends and family will meet for Mass of Christian Burial 10:30 a.m. Thursday at St. Matthew Church, 807 Havens Corners Rd., Gahanna. Procession will form at the church. Burial St. Joseph Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to The American Lung Association. From AIAColumbus Newsletter

Lakeside 2008, Presidential Elections lectures

This series is being offered at 10:30 in the Green Room of the Fountain Inn by Justin Vaughn, Asst. Prof., Cleveland State (PhD from Texas A&M). Yesterday's topic was how the media influences the elections and today's was on the Electoral College (which no one likes, but no one gets rid of).

Prof. Vaughn has really, really tried to be non-partisan and not let his biases show. He's done better than most, with a minimum of asides. But golly miss molly, you just have to watch those verbs and adjectives! For instance, yesterday he talked about how FDR "used" the media to his advantage (for 4 terms, I might add, he colluded with the press to hide his polio disability), but in the next breath it was how Nixon "manipulated" the media with his Checkers (dog) story. Today when discussing the electoral system, he said, Bush "was awarded" the presidency, and that he was "considered the president" by that system. Well, Prof. Vaughn, that is OUR system. He won. If it had been popular, in my opinion, he would have also won, because Illinois and Washington would have had to get those dead people off the rolls for the recounts.

Vaughn began the seminar today by asking had anyone watched CNN yesterday and what the big story was. Jesse Jackson, someone called out. (Many up here don't have cable or broadcast access, or choose not to watch while on vacation, so some were clueless.) So in summing up yesterday's topic, he said that what Jackson said off camera about wanting to castrate Obama for talking down to black men was "stupid" and it was really a trivial news story.

Was that really the big story? Or was it how the media protected Jackson by not criticizing him, or even repeating what he said. Just kept repeating his apology. What if this had been Rev. Rod Parsley or Dr. James Dobson? Do you suppose in the wildest stretch of your most liberal imagination that the press would have danced around this hateful, evil remark? White media figures have been fired for saying much less. Black hip hopsters get to say ho ho ho away we go, but not whitey.

The second half of the story is that Jackson has said many of the same things about family values (not too sincerely, since he has a love child) that Obama said, and the white liberals haven't fallen into his arms and called him wonderful counselor, mighty one, lord most high. He has brow beat and black-mailed American CEOs with boycott threats into hiring more blacks and never got a lick of thanks from white liberals. He knows he was supposed to be the first black president and this wimp raised in Hawaii who went to private schools, raised by white folk, gets it instead. Man, he's one mad dude.

Yes, Prof. Vaughn, it is media bias, but you need to dig a bit deeper on this story. And watch those verbs.

Italy, Friday day 10, Perugia & Assisi, after lunch

As I mentioned yesterday, here at Lakeside (our summer home on Lake Erie) the story of St. Francis was the topic of a lecture series, which included the film, Brother Sun Sister Moon. We didn't see the whole film, getting mostly the birds, animals, the lovely Clare, and ending with the lead actor's beautiful naked body as he throws off his clothes and accepts a life of poverty so he can follow Christ. But it does contain a lot of truth about the battle the Christian has even today with the sirens of comfort and materialism. In St. Francis' day, it was mainly the wealthy merchants and church officials, but today, it's just about everyone in America. Just like the 13th century, the churches join in, rather than lead, and constant renewal is necessary.


I don't recall the name of the restaurant where we ate after touring Perugia, but of all the pasta dishes we had in Italy, I think this was my favorite--with truffles (mushrooms, a regional specialty), a cream sauce and a little pork sausage (which I'm sure has a real name), with a lettuce salad with tuna, tomatoes, olives and mozzarella. The other tour group sharing the dining room were all using sign language.



The fortifications of Assisi included two fortresses in addition to the walls: Rocca Maggiore at the top of the hill and Rocca Minore built in the 14th c.

Boy! We're we hot--looking for shade, gelato, and the bus. These ladies were with the Illinois group, great fun!



The Basilica de San Francesco was built to honor St. Francis upon his canonization. The site is known as "paradise Hill" chosen to parallel Golgotha, the site of Christ's crucifixion. His crypt is on display as well as those of his closest companions. The art is so magnificent you just can't describe it. I had a little difficulty hearing our guide, but I suspect the experience could have been more spiritual with a believer.



Most of these pilgrims and tourists are our AHI tour group at the Basilica de Santa Chiara--Janet, Ed, Ted, Ellen, Andy, Judy, Bill, etc.--modeled on the forms of the upper Basilica of St. Francis. Clare also renounced her family and wealth and devoted herself to Christ and the poor.

For some reason our final group of photos is missing from the processed disk, so I'll have to add them later.

Italy, Friday Day 10, Perugia & Assisi, before lunch

Today at Lakeside we had a lecture and film (Brother Sun Sister Moon, 1972, which played well both in the new agey 1970s and 35 years later in today's environmental neo-pagan worship of mother earth) about St. Francis of Assisi, so I thought it a good time to review Day 10 of our Italy trip.

In Orvieto we piled into small vans, motored down hill from our delightful 19th c. hotel, and then boarded the big, comfortable, air conditioned tour bus for a trip to Perugia and Assisi, through some magnificent countryside, not the least of which is the view coming down the mountain to get on the super highway. In addition to being known for chocolate, ceramics and beautiful vistas, Perugia in the past had a reputation for bellicosity. In fact Giovanni Battista (St. Francis) got his military experience in a campaign against Perugia, after which he spent a year in prison. After his military experience he returned home to Assisi and had a conversion, left his family's wealth and devoted his life to prayer and poverty.

After escalators and stairs, our first view was underground. Perugia was home of some wealthy, war-like families who also battled the church, so as a punishment the pope had a fortress built on top of their homes. We walked underground to view the remains of the ancient city, where homes of the 16th c. are still on view.





I hope I'm not making any serious identification mistakes, but I believe this is the Fontana Magiore, a 13th c. fountain flanked by the statue of Pope Julius II and Cathedral of San Lorenzo with the Cappella del Santo Anelo inside (my husband was clicking the camera--I was running along behind trying to read Italian signs). These ancient buildings require constant attention, thus the scaffolding.



Perugia is the capital of Umbria with lots of shops for tourists and medieval back streets to explore. It is known for truffles, olive oil, chocolate and beautiful hand painted ceramics. We didn't buy any chocolate--well, maybe just one chocolate gelato, but there were many tempting shops.



We did not tour the Galleria Nazionale dell' Umbria which contains the art treasures of the Umbrian area, but we went into one gallery area and noticed the staff finds ways to park their cars.

Lakeside 2008, Farmer's Market

I saw some wonderful rhubarb, green beans, blue berries, fresh flowers and onions. My apple pie is terrific, but oh I do love warm rhubarb pie! The hours are 9-12 a.m. on Tuesday.

Lakeside 2008 Season

We're here, but I haven't done much. I've visited with three friends, walked past the lake front once or twice, browsed a few stores, missed a lecture I'd planned to attend, had several naps, and slowly brought the cottage back to life after 4 weeks of renters/family. Yesterday I made a quick trip to the Marblehead post office to mail my daughter her make-up kit. The postal worker said she sees a lot of stuff going out on Monday morning as the hosts mail things to their guests that were left in cupboards or under the beds.

Italy, Thursday, Day 9, after lunch

After our brisk walking tour of Florence in the morning, a group of us headed to Ristorante Pennello, recommended by our AHI guide, Mick. The food was great--I had a plate of rice and vegetables, which is close to what I eat at home and my husband had soup. Actually, we didn't find any bad food in Italy (unless it was what I ate at the Rome airport which might have caused my intestinal disturbance sending me to the ER). I don't know all the names, but we had a different type of pasta every day. Every day.

With Velta and George in Florence
After lunch we backtracked to the Basilica and got in line, and it moved fairly quickly.



Dome interior
From there we did this rather odd zig zag lope through Florence. This isn't an exact map, but I think it was close. And it was so hot. I whined a lot!



From the Basilica we walked to the Dominican church of Santa Maria Novella, begun in 1246 and standing on an earlier church built in 1094. The marble was added in the 14th c.--seemed to be a trend in renovation back then. We might have just spent the day there, because there are many chapels all filled with art, but we moved on.



Then we looked for the bridge, also a tourist site, so we could get to Palazzo Pitti.

You could spend a day just browsing the shops on this bridge. "Oh look, honey, it's only 1,250 Euro!" "Can't stop now."
Palazzo Pitti, built for banker Luca Pitti in the 1450s, became the Medici family residence. Because the outside isn't particularly charming or beautiful, we didn't take a photo, and I'm not sure we were allowed to inside. Anyway, there are 8 museums in this building, in which any one you could spend days. The Gallerina Palatina collection (16th-18th c.) alone houses Titan and Rubens, Fiorentino and Sarto. Other galleries are Jove, Saturn, Education, Justice, costume, modern art and silver.

Borrowed photo from the web, but I could easily be among the sitting tourists while my husband went to get the very expensive tickets. If you are traveling with or are an artist, this is a great place; with an architect, not so much.



From Palazzo Pitti we galloped along the river, crossing to see the medieval church Santa Croce, magnificent even with scaffolding. According to legend it was founded by St Francis in the 13th century. It contains the tombs of some of Italy's most illustrious sons--Ghiberti, Michelangelo, Machiavelli, Galileo, Nori, Bruni and Rossini. It contains wonderful frescos, according to my guidebook, but by this time I couldn't move another step, and sat down, while my husband went in without me.



Thursday, Day 9, Before lunch

Italy, Thursday, Day 9, before lunch

Two days after arriving home from Italy on June 30, my husband had 300 prints of clock towers, farms, cathedrals and cobblestone streets arranged in the photo album. He had also spent one night in a chair in the ER with me, planned and gathered the material for the art class he'll teach in August, wrote 2 articles for the Sept. church newsletter so he won't miss the deadline, and learned which buttons and dials to push on the washing machine to tackle the mountain of dirty clothes I couldn't get to. That's what it is like to see Florence, Italy in half a day with an architect. Tour members who had been there before were smart and settled on one spot after our quicky walking tour before lunch. We tried three. The last one I didn't go into I was so pooped, I just sat down on the curb in the shade while my husband rushed up to the ticket window. I struck up a conversation--the woman had grown up on Kelly's Island, 5 miles from our summer house on Lake Erie. Next year our neighbors are taking their family to Florence for their 50th and have rented a flat. Now, that would be smart. One day? Hardly.

We left Orvieto before 8 a.m. and this was our first stop, where we met our German guide who introduced us to a few sights and sites. This square was filled with vendors and we also bought a small watercolor from a local artist.

Here's our group hustling along behind our guide (straw hat far in front) on a whirlwind walking tour. We are heading toward the Basilica and Battistero.




Here I am with thousands of other tourists trying to see Battistero di San Giovanni (Baptistery of St. John). I'm in the green hat, foreground. It was built 1059-1128 on the site of a 6th c. building which was built on a 1st c. Roman palace, or possibly a temple. The marble facade was added a few centuries later, and in the 14th c. the elaborate doors were added. The south doors are 28 scenes from the Life of St. John the Baptist, the north doors are the Life of Christ, the Evangelists and Doctors of the Church in 28 frames, and the east doors depict 10 scenes from the Old Testament.

This is The Basilica de Santa Maria del Fiore (St. Mary of the Flower) which was built on top a 6th c. church. It was begun in 1294 and consecrated in 1436. The dome, an incredible architectural feat, was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi and I'm not sure anyone yet understands how he did it! The lines were long, so we waited until after lunch to go in.

Filippo Brunelleschi staring at the dome

Popular culture or neo-paganism

Not only have I seen beautiful cities and rural vistas in Italy, but I've seen five recent movies (transatlantic flight) and read one recent novel, "Nineteen minutes" (Jodi Picoult, 2007). It's a long flight, our destination was 5 hours ahead on the clock, so I was awake all night and saw "27 dresses," "Definitely, Maybe," "Dan in Real Life," "La Mome," and "Bucket List."

If you don't see many movies, don't watch much TV (just saw my first "Sex and the City" last night--season 3, chlamydia episode where Miranda makes a list of 42 guys she's slept with--ah, romance), and read primarily non-fiction, you do get out of touch with just how morally impoverished, spiritually starved and values-empty our popular culture is. Or maybe it was the recent visit to the ruins of Pompeii that put it all in perspective.

It's not that these movies showed a lot of skin, or people romping through bedroom scenes, no, that's for the 1970s and 1980s films. It was more disturbing than that. Sex meant nothing at all. Wasn't at all erotic. It was like any bodily function, from eating to defecating. Only cuter. For instance, the "Definitely, Maybe" storyline is a complicated twisted series of flashbacks as Daddy attempts to explain to a 10 year old which of his three squeezes in his younger days (a Clinton campaign worker) was her mother. All the adults in this film are promiscuous, but it's critiqued as sophisticated, sweet, simple, smart, fresh, rewarding and non-formulaic, depending on the reviewer. Except for one, much smarter than the rest. I tried to pick up the extended review, but the computer froze (out of shock?), so I have no idea what came later--and it seemed an odd source, The Portland Oregonian.

"The flashback itself is a romantic dramedy that's far smarter than junk like "27 Dresses." Unfortunately, to enjoy that flashback, you have to ignore two gargantuan idiocies: No sane father would twist his daughter into knots by telling this story. It's full of booze, cigarettes, infidelity and sex with women who aren't Mom."

Using cigarettes in a movie will get you far more criticism than bedroom follies, so that is mentioned in several reviews. It's no wonder that Miranda had chlamydia and 42 lovers by the third season.

On a happier note: a little girl across the aisle was singing while we watched the movie. She started with B-I-N-G-O (Mom was trying to sleep), then moved on to Jingle Bells, but kept forgetting the words. Soon it morphed into Bingle Jells. She has such a brief time to be a little girl.

Italy, little oops

There are still honest people in the world. Twice I left my purse, but it was returned. The first time was in a rest room, and I hung it on a door hook in a stall, and left it there. The next user came rushing out with it and said, "Is this yours?" Whew! Actually, I wasn't carrying much in it except a few Euros, Kleenex, comb, lipstick, a notebook and my phone list, but the purse was expensive. Then after our visit to Pompeii, I left it in the restaurant, but a waiter found it.

Italy has wonderful gelato (ice cream) and we thought my husband was spilling drops on his trousers, and we finally figured out it was so hot that the stain on his leather watch band was dissolving from perspiration and dripping on his pants. We had to remove his watch, wrap it in a paper towel and put it in a baggie.

The gelato was so good, one time I decided to get adventurous and pointed to lemon--lemon being the BIG flavor of the region. Usually I ordered chocolate. But I got a surprise. It was lemon sherbet (don't know the Italian word) which is a bit tart, and not a favorite.

Cafe Americano whether from behind the counter in a shop or from a machine in the hotel is a bit disappointing. They just add hot water to espresso. It had no flavor at all. Even the Russians make better American coffee than the Italians.

Sweety, have you seen my glasses?

The Fairness Doctrine and the Democrat

Nothing could be sillier than reinstituting the badly named "Fairness Doctrine." We have an information glut. If I want liberal bias, I can pick up the WSJ or the NYT. If I want loud, ear-splitting boomer bumper music with conservative opinion, I can listen to Glenn Beck on radio or watch him on cable. If I want to know what to watch for on the left, I just read Moveon dot org on the internet. Every McCain and Obama and Clinton support group has a web site. I'm still getting mailings from Mike Huckabee! If I want fundy greenies, I can tune into PBS, or if I want liberal greenies, well, I can just open one of my husband's professional magazines. Christian information sites bloom like mold on cathedral walls. (Can you tell I've been to Europe?) But "they" are trying it again. Not just to silence talk radio, and any conservative or libertarian view points, but to stifle Christians on Sunday morning from preaching some of the tough stuff on sex, marriage, greed, politics, parenting, etc. even from the pulpit. How could any single program, paper, editor, reporter ever squeeze every opinion into one story? The law suits would abound; silence, fear and dullness would reign. Here's a little background by WDUN AM 550 in Gainesville, Ga. talker Martha Zoller:

"Until recently, America had a large and robust variety of newspapers and other printed media, but a smaller amount of broadcast availability due to limited frequencies. The Fairness Doctrine came about during the age of Communism and argued that since the airwaves were limited, there should be balance or “fairness” in the points of view that were presented. It applied only to radio and while in place, radio stations avoided controversial topics altogether in order to avoid any problems with the FCC.

In 1984, due to new technologies, the Supreme Court decided the scarcity argument no longer applied and lifted the Fairness Doctrine. And that was before the Internet allowed for limitless voices. There wasn’t much resistance at the time, because radio was thought to be old media.

The end of the Doctrine allowed the explosion of talk radio, saved AM radio and created thousands of new jobs in the broadcast industry. It was one man, Rush Limbaugh, who at the time showed ailing Top 40 AM radio stations they could flourish and be profitable as news/talk stations. Since then, the left has hated the power of talk radio and has made noises recently that they want a return of the Fairness Doctrine. If that happens, talk radio as we know it will cease to exist. Continue here.

I think the NYT is biased and unfair, and should stay that way if it pays their bills. I like the editorial page of the WSJ, but not the editorializing of its reporters. If their advertisers and investors are happy, I can just not read them. I don't want my government to select my news and opinion sources.

HT Newsbusters

Italy, Tuesday, Day 7

Because today is July 4, I'll just skip ahead on our trip a bit to Day 7, when we boarded the bus in Sorrento to travel to Orvieto. It was terribly hot--our guide, Mick, said he thought it was near 100. From the comfort of our air conditioned bus we viewed neat farms and vineyards and ancient towns tucked and carved into the mountains for protection from predators long forgotten, or absorbed.

We stopped around noon at a country estate that had a winery that I believe went back to the middle ages, and the farm house and vineyards had pretty much been destroyed during WWII. It was in the Anzio area where there is a huge American cemetery (Sicily Rome American Cemetery), supposedly, somewhere in the hazy distance (it was terribly hot), our hostess pointed. The brother-in-law of a h.s. classmate of mine was killed there at age 18, Henry (Junior) Wilburn. It was a beautiful, peaceful site--you'd never know the grief, pain and horror of Spring 1944 that was all around. So in the wine tasting under the cool trees overlooking the vineyards, we toasted Junior and all his fallen Allied comrades, and even his enemies, also young boys--most under 20--of many countries and regions and nationalities (Poles particularly revisit this area as they lost many here). This is July 4 and it's important to remember freedom isn't free, it's very costly. The generations that remember this war are passing away, and today's young people can't imagine such a world event. So to all the Juniors of that war and all wars, thank you.

We stopped for a delicious lunch that included tender white beans in a tomato sauce.



The restored farmhouse where the owners greeted us and served champagne

Overlooking the glorious countryside, now peaceful

We're home--blogging will be light!

The Tour was fabulous, the trip a bit rough. I've been released from the hospital, my head feels like it's still on a jet plane, my mouth tastes like yesterday's dirty socks, and I look like something only the cat could love. But my husband has the album full and is running them through the wonderful digital contraption our daughter gave him for Father's Day so I can watch them without exerting any energy. I'll write more when I feel better.

Positano, Day 3

Update July 4: One of the Janets also got sick--those in our group might remember she left dinner early Saturday to go back to the hotel. She thinks that it was the water in Assisi--which wasn't bottled but served in a flask. Anyway, her doctor is recommending homemade chicken soup and says he sees a lot of patients returning from abroad with this. I was more fortunate--she actually had to drive home from O'Hare in the condition that sent me to the ER.

Tuesday, Day 7

Thursday, Day 9, before lunch

Thursday, Day 9, after lunch

Friday, Day 10, before lunch

Friday, Day 10, after lunch

Orvieto Cathedral