Due Carrarae5

The camping club of Padova was invited by the city to attend their 4
days of ivents. So we went. They tried but it was pretty much a
disappointment. Not many people attending. One of the big events was
an antique tractor plowing race of sorts. What else can I say.

Apple Fritters

Julia and I made apple frittes for her class report.

Due Carrare

Here we are in Due Carrare at little two south of Padova.  They invited people with campers to come and enjoy the festivities on this long weekend.  We got treated to a free breakfast and some goodies including a polo shirt with the town logo on it and a speech from the mayor.  There are only about 12 campers here so far, more on the way.  It's a nice town, very old; not so different from a lot of similar ones.  We are about to take a tour on bikes and later will ride an open English bus to see an old villa, then tomorrow the kids will enjoy and medieval jousting competition.  I will post some pictures.

Political Rant

I spent some time writing this on Facebook and thought I might as well give it a little more coverage.  It started as an answer as to why it is in the minds of some ok to criticize Bush but not Obama.  Keep in mind that I am not opposed to legitimate criticism of the President whoever he is.   Don't worry happy pictures coming next.

In order to understand this one must step back and take an unbiased look at the overall picture.  Really take a hard look at what is being done to try and destroy the effectiveness of the government for the sole purpose of getting back in power.  Ask yourself some questions, did Obama start two wars, did he take us from a budget surplus to a huge deficit, would you now give up your ability to have health insurance even if you get cancer, would you have preferred that the country went into a massive depression instead of getting on the road to recovery, will you be happy if the Tea Party gives the country back to the big corporations, the health insurance industry, etc.  Are you a member of the rich ruling class that profited most under Bush or are you a member of the middle class that Obama struggles to help.  Do you know that the average tax paid by Americans is only 9% of their income.  Who would more tax cuts help?  Do you know that the percentage of Americans who have before tax TOTAL family income of around 100,000 is only about 10 or 15 percent.   Do you think the US is morally justified in invading two countries and starting wars that have resulted in the loss of tens of thousands of lives including many thousands of Americans and the displacement of millions from their homes, all done under the justification of the 9/11 attack and the so called war on terrorism.  By the way where is Ben Laden?

Ask yourself where is all this hate directed at the President really coming form. Is it really coming from all the people out of work because of the Bush administration policies or is it being promoted by rich talk show hosts standing on the backs of their listeners and others who stand to profit the most from a Republican administration.

No Comment

Jealousy

Some recent events have made it more clear than ever that we should not be envious or jealous of those who seem to have more or appear to have the perfect life.  They can be kicked in the gut at any moment just like anyone else.  Their world can come crashing down around them in moments as can everyone's.

American Indians

So the school had a nice program for the 4th and 5th grades. It was
about traveling around the World and appreciationg all the various
cultures. I thought it was interesting that they protrayed Americans
as Indians, that is Native Americans. Not a great picture but you can
get the idea.

Verona part 1

Outside the Roman theater on this day there were people dressed in the
old fashion demonstrating some of the old crafts, making silk thread,
wool, spinning wheels, rope and paper from the skin of animals. It
was educational for the kids and me as well.

Soave

First night stop on a weekend journey to Verona and Sirmione.

At the beach near Cecina

The last bit of our Easter trip. The beach reminded me a little of
California, cold water and there were some waves the first day that
had been generated by the rain and wind.

Degrading Women in Italy

Last night we, Luisa and I,  were channel surfing and started watching this terrible show on Mediaset 1.  They paired nerdy smart guys with beautiful stupid young women.  The women, all young and very nice looking were dressed to the sexual max and the guys probably dressed themselves.  Then they put the girls on a table in front of the guys one couple at a time and asked the girls to identify some pictures of famous Italians, like an ex president for example.  It would have been in the US like asking someone to recognize a picture of Gerald Ford or even Bill Clinton.  They did not recognize any of them and the host gave them a bunch of hints until they finally sort of sounded out the names.  Then they had to do a sexy dance on top of the table in front of the guys who couldn't decide if they should look up their skirts or not.  We kept it on too long hoping that at least one of the girls would answer at least one question, but none did.  Well I have to admit I don't mind looking at the girls, but how degrading can these TV producers get.  We turned it off before really understanding what the point was if there was one. 

Colle di Val d'Elsa

One of those Medevial Tuscan villages. We were looking for a place to
attend mass on Easter Sunday so we saw the church and a place to park
the camper and there we were.

Siena

Part of our Easter trip,

Loss of a Friend

Last night we got the overwhelmingly sad news that a dear friend Steve Tanaka passed away.  He was on vacation with his family in Costa Rica and he drowned or maybe had a heart attack while swimming.  He was only 50, maybe a bit younger I'm not sure of his age.  But he was not someone that one would imagine leaving us so soon.  He had a beautiful family, his wife Kathy and their 10 year old son Christopher and his life seemed so perfect aside from the stress of his job.  That job, chief information officer at Palomar Hospital, though stressful was a part of who he was in the sense that it was a mark of his success not just as very competent in his work but a person who was liked by all and had a way of getting along with everyone.  For me he was  a person that I connected with on many levels.  He and his family were a kind of fixture at our family events in California, and we at his, we went sailing on his boat, made trips to the beach, did a bit of surfing together and the occasional dinner out.  After we moved to Italy they came to visit us on their trip to Europe to celebrate Kathy's 50th birthday.  And on our trips back to California we stayed in his home and borrowed his car.  We have kept in touch always by email though most of the conversations were through Katy as he was always so busy working.  But mostly it is just that feeling of connection that makes his loss so hard.

I leave you with his last note to me:

John,

Great to hear from you. Kathy's out in Colorado on a Skiing trip with a friend which means that I'm picking up Christopher from school. So, right now I'm sitting out in front of Nativity responding to emails on my Blackberry.

Life is crazy busy for me as usual. I'm trying to get my mind wrapped around the notion that's it's really a matter of choice in terms of how I choose to create and deal with the stresses I feel but can't seemed to get past the current reality of having 14hrs of work to do each day. But enough of that...We're all doing well here, your description of Julia entering that "tween" phase of development exactly describes where Christopher is. Pretty sure he already know the Birds and Bees thing...but someday soon, I'll have to have that conversation with him to make it "Oh-fficial"

Sports wise he's gotten into baseball in a big way. I'll email you the link to his Catching and Batting videos. He's also gotten into running gates this ski season. At Keystone on the Nastar course I was running the course next to him and near the finish was shocked to see out of the corner of my eye a green streak which was Christopher who finishing 0.01 second behind me. He got the Gold, I got the Silver. Next season - expect that he'll finish ahead but by a bigger margin.

Well, he's coming out so I gotta go!

Stay in touch and send our love to Luisa, Julia and Giovanni!!

We will miss you Steve.