Month: October 2022

We will get to the mysteries in a minute, but first …

As I had completed my unpacking, sorting of cables and wires and getting a mental idea of what I need to get lined out for today it was time to get outside. It takes three keys to get out of the building so I must allow for some fumbling time. When I got through the third door I saw all of this equipment and people. I was the old guy standing on the side yelling at the little kids to get off my grass. It was some sort of cooking show, Italian style.

As everything else was going on there was this background noise that was grating and annoying. I followed the noise down to the river and saw two helicopters going up and down the Arno river slowly looking for something. It turns out someone had gone out on a rowing shell and the shell returned with no one in the boat. I have not heard if all was resolved but no helicopters today.

I included the photo of the pasta carbonara so Sally could see her dish was on track with the professionals. Maybe more importantly is I had two people came up to me and say, “I remember you.” The first was the manager of the Boccadama restaurant who gave me a hug and a limoncello and the second was the man who painted the “#5 tiles” that I gave out to those who joined me in Florence,

Now, to the science part of this posting. I think it was four years ago when my brother and his partner Rob came to visit. After dinner at the Boccadama Restaurant we walked outside and the full moon was hanging over the Basilica. And then it happened again last night. My brother, the intellect, informed me they can calulate these things and predict when it will happen. I think it is just magic.

…Then everthing must change.

We had one last dinner on the deck and tried to remember everything left to gather for the trip. The wine deadened all that was left to do.

So even though my feet were as close to “out the door as possible” I still had one more responsibility to complete.

I have not been able to do the math to calculate how long I traveled to get here but it was long. I found my landlord at the front door of my apartment and we both commented on what handsome men we had turned into over the years of no visits. I went straight to bed and did not realize I had a clock issue until I woke up the next morning at either 9:00 am, 10:00 am or 11:00 am. I got dressed and went to the first 3 “Bars” (espresso places) and got a concensus of 9:00. Interestingly there was a decenter.

This is a barber shop I stumbled upon a few years ago and I was happy to see they had survived Covid. The name of the shop is “Machete” and they have their own line of whiskey under the same name that they serve while cutting your hair. In my opinion this adds a bit of sport to the common haircut. When I declined the whiskey they offered me an espresso – the only proper way to cut hair.

This map is oriented correctly for north and south and east and west. In the middle of the map you will find a “key shaped” plot which is the Duomo or Santa Maria de Fioria.” In the lower right of the map you will find the Basilica of Santa Croce. The land to the west of the Basilica is the Piazza de Santa Croce on which I am a resident at #5. Straight south from the Duomo, on the river, is the Uffizi Museum and the Palazzio Vecchio. Then to the west is the train, bus and taxi terminal with the Santa Maria Novella or the new Santa Maria Church.

This is now lesson # 1 in the idea that everything must change theorem. When you are building something you intend will last 1500 years or more then think about nameing something the New or the Old because that very likely will change over a millennium and what was new is now the old.

I now need to work on my watches and calendars. They do not all agree on days and times and I am not sure which one I can rely on. Every day all of church bells ring at 6:00pm which gives a read on time but it only comes once a day. First world problems I fear.

Ciao