Over the back fence
...came home tonight after having a lovely cup of tea in spit-spot rain conditions with one of the Star Sisters while my boy-puppy tried to make friends with Star-Man, the Golden Retriever of the Day..who wasn't really having any of it..so Porter ran around trying to climb the fence and get at the squirrels who were teasing him farther up in the hawthorn tree...anyway back to the trainwreck of thought---my neighbor who is a professor of Latin and GReek and ancient history of all of the above and more and who is one of the most well-educated, well-spoken, open-minded, high-standards kind of teacher--was waiting for me. He asked me how I liked Italia. I responded with "How could I NOT like Italia?" And we were off....I have since studied some more of the geography and history and remembered that I have read situational fiction and told him a couple of titles that I learned about from our guides on the trip---He is bringing me the first three from his collection at Seattle U. Am I one lucky person or what? It's like I have my own 1 on1 history class and lit class all in one with wine!! He was excited that we were so intrigued and interested in the Etruscans. HE has some thoughts on that for the future. He is going an another adventure this summer visiting and exploring Roman camps and outposts all along the Rhine. And he is interested in Van Gogh in the Netherlands and outside of France. I wonder if he knows I did my sabbatical work in France on the last weeks/months of Van Gogh before he decided to check out. I want to live this life and grow this mind and garden this soul and savor this food and everything that comes my way. BE careful what you ask for....also got him in a little hot water because he has been promising his wife that he will take her to Cinque Terre for several years and I came home yammering about how splendid it was...and he said he is on the hot seat to get her over there to hike and eat. In no particular order. Of course, he speaks fluent Italian and so he helped me with some of my words. I like that I can be friends with my neighbors. He likes my little dog, too.
My next big read this summer will include VIrgil. I may even begin to teach myself some Latin. I have always wanted to learn.
Had a wonderful evening last night with my dearest friend, Scott McLean, his lovely wife and one of their sons, Derrick. They shared all the luscious details of their adventures in Switzerland where they were earlier this year because Derrick is a World Champion Curling Team member for the USA. What an experience they had--culturally, athletically, parkingly....the Swiss are known for their cheese, chocolate, aroma-showers, hospitality--but not their abundance of parking. We could take a few tips from them about car-free zones in the center of cities, etc. My opinion. I liked having to walk all over Italy. I was ready for it. It made life so much easier.
Pretty nice having a neighbor to talk Virgil and ants and Ostia and Italian with. Tea and dogs. Pasta and dogs. Coffee and ducks and walks. Head cold and body aches not withstanding---it's a wonderful life.