Author Archives: kzmclain

Thursday Thoughts

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Down By the Schoolyard
Tuesday afternoon I had some time to kill and a back that was hurting for reasons I can’t explain. (Lord knows it wasn’t from hard work!) Anyway, I had put the movie Maid in Manhattan on “My List” on Netflix, and I decided to spend a couple of mindless hours watching it. I had seen it before, but for some reason, I like that movie. Perhaps it’s because it stars Jennifer Lopez, a performer I really like, though admittedly her acting – at least  in this movie – leaves a lot to be desired. My liking this movie is certainly DESPITE her co-star Ralph Fiennes, an actor I abhor for no good reason whatsoever. While I half-expected to look back afterwards and think well, there’s two hours of my life I’ll never get back, that isn’t what happened. I’m a sucker for a love story, predictable or not. And it started off well because the song that opens the movie is Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard, by Paul Simon. I double-dog-dare you to listen to that song without tapping your feet and singing along. One of my favorite songs EVER. In fact, that movie has lots of good music. No chemistry between J-Lo and Fiennes, however.

The New Kale
imgresI recently got something on my Facebook timeline feed that indicated that the vegetable kohlrabi was making a comeback. In fact, according to whatever it was I read, kohlrabi is the new kale. Because kale is apparently losing its luster, I feel safe to admit that I simply loathe that particular green leafy vegetable. And I am a lover of green leafy vegetables. The only exception is the Tuscan soup (aka Zuppa Toscana) that, in addition to kale, also includes Italian sausage and potatoes. Perhaps it’s the Italian sausage and potatoes that makes the kale palatable. Anyway, I had great plans to write an entire blog post about kohlrabi in which I would tell you all about my grandmother and how she served kohlrabi and how delicious I thought it was. As part of this proposed blog post, I was going to include a recipe for kohlrabi, including photos of the kohlrabi which I would have prepared. Unfortunately, word about kohlrabi being the next kale hasn’t reached Denver, because not only can I not find it at any grocery store, but when I ask, the produce people look at me blankly as though I’m speaking Bengali. I am not giving up.

Crustaceans
Our son Court and his family recently returned from Maine, where they attended the wedding of Alyx’s sister. For the rehearsal dinner, the bridal couple offered fresh Maine lobsters. Yum. They shipped in 40 pounds of them, and, not surprisingly, they were apparently delicious.

40 lbs lobsters 2016

At some point Court and Alyx’s brother Kemo challenged one another to a lobster-eating contest. Court was the victor with a total of six whole lobsters. He won  by a mere claw. Kaiya was brave enough to handle a live lobster…..

Kaiya lobsters

When the Cows Come Home
Tuesday was Dress Like a Cow Day at Chick-Fil-A. I’m not sure if that’s what they called it, but apparently anyone who wore cowlike clothing into the restaurant received a free entrée. I connected up with my niece Maggie and her family that morning at Chick-Fil-A to say goodbye as they were leaving for Arizona later that afternoon. Not ones to miss out on a good deal, here is who I found……

Mark Lilly cows 7.16 (2)

Yikes. When Mark Jensen hears Dress Like a Cow, he dresses like a cow. You can barely see Lilly’s cow vest, but it’s there.

Ciao.

Ain’t it a Shame?

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imgresI recently took one of the ten or twenty thousand quizzes that show up on my Facebook feed every week dealing with everything from what does your favorite Pokeman say about you to which Disney princess are you. I will admit that I am a sucker for those quizzes when they show up on my timeline. I never publish the results, but I very often take the quiz. By the way, I wouldn’t take the Pokeman quiz because despite the fact that some of my grandkids are fans, I have never quite figured out what a Pokeman is so I certainly don’t have a favorite. Now the Disney princess is a different story. Oh Belle….

However, the quiz I recently took dealt with grammar, and which grammatical mistakes most annoy me. According to the developer-of-the-quiz, they could predict my age by what grammatical mistakes grate most on my nerves.

I took the quiz and learned that I am 19 years old. Hmmmm.

The reason the quiz so misjudged my age, I think, is because I couldn’t really answer the questions fairly.  The fact of the matter is that ALL grammatical errors annoy me (being old and therefore easily annoyed), so I would just randomly select my answer. This isn’t to say that I have perfect grammar. I don’t. My grammar particularly suffers when I’m speaking, and is a bit better when I write. Still, far from perfect.

Nevertheless, spelling and grammatical errors bug me. Must I be the editor for the entire world I often ask my husband. Aren’t I so full of myself? I wonder how many grammatical errors are in this very blog post. Don’t tell me.

My mother used correct grammar and was a good speller as well. I think the two often go hand-in-hand. I know what grammatical error she found most annoying:  Saying these ones or those ones. While I wouldn’t say that is the grammatical error that makes me the most crazy, I always notice when someone uses that phrase (which is frequently) because I heard my mother complain through gritted teeth very often when she would hear someone say something like these ones are my kids’ favorite or make sure you put those ones on the top. Like fingernails on a chalkboard to her.

There are certain grammatical mistakes that I probably wouldn’t make if I was writing, but would very possibly make when I was speaking. For example, I probably often say something like there’s pickles in the refrigerator, but I would correctly write there ARE pickles in the refrigerator. Verb/subject disagreement doesn’t particularly bother me. I’m fairly disagreeable myself so who am I to talk.

The same holds true for the correct use of who and whom. I wouldn’t want to speculate on just how often I misuse those words. I know, I know, who is the subject; whom is a direct object. Still, it’s difficult for me to remember.

And speaking of it’s, I’m not sure why that word is so often misspelled because the rule is simple: the only time it is ever spelled it’s is if you are saying it is. Otherwise, it’s its. Even if it doesn’t make sense (i.e, possessive its), simply memorize that simple rule.

I guess if you put my feet to the fire and made me commit to the grammatical error I find most annoying, it would be the incorrect use of less and fewer. The incorrect use of those two words is one of the few grammatical errors that makes me crazy in both written and spoken form. Grocery people: it’s not 15 or less items; it’s 15 or fewer items. And don’t hate me if I come with 16 items.

My sister Bec (who was a high school English teacher for many years) is as good a grammarian as anyone I know. I frequently ask her questions about the correct use of a word or phrase.  We were both in attendance at our niece Jessie’s final capstone presentation prior to graduating. It isn’t surprising that we were both clueless on the topic her group presented: the feasibility of using paper pulp with a polymer as a substitution for clay in a landfill. What? But at some point someone in her group misused less and fewer. I hasten to add that it wasn’t Jess. Afterwards, Bec and I looked at each other and I said, “Did you understand any of that?” Bec admitted she didn’t understand a word, but added, “I did hear someone incorrectly say less instead of fewer.

I laughed out loud, because I had noted it as well.

Must we be the editors for the entire world?

Honesty is the Best Policy

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ADIP-465_copy__15543__36849__07284.1426615144.1280.1280__28972.1436804429.1280.1280Bill and I went to Lowe’s yesterday afternoon to buy some wood so that Bill can put up chair rails in the bedroom that we are tackling next, remodeling-wise. After much discussion, we selected our pattern and took the six pieces of wood rail up to the cashier. She used her little scanning gun and binked it four times, then moved on to the next item. Bill stopped her and politely told her that there were six pieces of wood rather than four. As you would imagine, she was grateful for his honesty.

Now, I don’t know if this was part of Mom’s and Dad’s always stay humble and kind philosophy that I discussed in a recent blog post, but I am scrupulously honest. So is Bill.

We were recently at a restaurant and when I got the bill, I uncharacteristically studied it. I say uncharacteristically because I never, ever glance at a bill. I wonder how many times I have been overcharged or undercharged and never knew it. Anyhoo, as I looked at this bill, it appeared that we had only been charged for one Diet Coke rather than the correct two. The server noticed me looking at my bill and came over to see if there was a problem.

“Well, I think so,” I said. “It looks like you only charged us for one drink and we got two.”

She looked at the bill and pointed out to me that the bill said something like beverage X 2. Well, duh. Being so durn smart and all, you would think I could have figgered it out.

“It would have been in your favor, you know,” she said, rather snippily I thought.

Does that matter, I wondered. Because in my mind, it doesn’t.

I promise you that I’m not in danger of throwing my shoulder out of joint because I’m so busy patting myself on the back for my honesty. To me, it’s just common sense. Like I used to say to Jen when we were little and bickering (which was often, always her fault): I don’t care if you think you’re right because Mom knows and God knows. Boom. Mom, right up there in the all-knowing category with God.

So, recognizing that God sees all things and Thou shall not steal is one of the big 10 (not to be confused with the Big 10 Conference, of which the University of Nebraska is one), why take any chance on committing a sin, even if it is only venial? But a large part of it, I think, is that Mom and Dad owned a business, and likely got ripped off plenty in their day. We learned how that impacts a business owner. That’s why the day that I bought groceries at Safeway and was all the way out to my car before I realized that I hadn’t paid for a gallon of orange juice that was on the bottom of my cart, I went back and stood in line to pay for it. The cashier looked at me like I was nuts, I can tell you.

Bill and I have a restaurant that we enjoy going to when we are willing to spend a bit more for a nice meal. They have a program whereby when you register, you get two things: $10 off your meal on your wedding anniversary and a percentage off of your meal equivalent to your age on your birthday. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I got a full 62 percent off of my meal last December. Suuuuweeet! Can’t wait until I’m 100! I hope I still have teeth.

I got the gift certificate via email a week before our recent anniversary. We used it that week, getting the ten bucks off of our meal. And then two weeks later, I received a second email, identical to the first, but with a new expiration date. I was puzzled, but reluctant to look a gift horse in the mouth.

But I fretted. The whole way to the restaurant Bill and I discussed whether or not it was right that I was using this coupon when I had already gotten ten bucks off an anniversary meal. I didn’t sign up twice, I thought. Maybe they allow one for each of the two people celebrating the anniversary, I rationalized. It’s not my fault if they have computer issues, I justified.

But at the end of the day, we couldn’t do it. I don’t know why they sent me a second coupon. But it doesn’t matter.

Because Mom knows and God knows.

The Battle of the Orange and Cream

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Sometime in the past year or so, Bill and I discovered Stewart’s diet sodas. In particular, we were thrilled to taste their root beer and their orange and cream diet sodas.

For a while, they were sold at Fry’s grocery store, the Arizona version of Kroger. At some point, they stopped stocking them, or at least stopped stocking the diet versions. I was sad until I discovered I could buy them at a little fruit and vegetable market not far from our Arizona home. They don’t give them away – a buck forty-nine a bottle. The pop, however, is well worth the price as both the orange and cream and the root beer are splendidly delicious.

So I did what any normal person addicted to a particular product would do – I began hoarding them. Seriously, I would go to the Superstition Market each week or so and buy every single solitary bottle of the diet root beer and the diet orange and cream in the refrigerated case. I try not to think about how much money I spent on my habit. But I will tell you the honest truth – I was not the only one doing so. Every time I went, I would have to wrestle a bottle or two from some other desperate senior citizen’s hand. Well, not really, but figuratively, yes. The only good thing is that it seems like most senior citizens covet the cream soda, and as far as I’m concerned, they can have every one of them because, well, cream soda.

The reason that I began hoarding Stewart’s diet sodas like a meth addict is because I was unable to find any place in Denver that sells Stewart’s sodas. Now, that doesn’t mean there isn’t any such place, but I can’t determine a source. So my thought was that since we would be driving home from Arizona in May, I would load up our trunk with clanging bottles of soda pop.

Stewarts hoardAnyhow, that’s exactly what I did. They have been sitting on a shelf in our garage since we got home. Little by little, I have opened a coveted bottle as a special treat. The diet root beers are delicious, but without a doubt, I prefer the orange and cream sodas. Because, orange and cream. You can read further about my orange and cream addiction in this post.

Now, before I go on, I will remind you that I would do almost anything for any one of my grandchildren. I make treats that they like. I have a constant supply of their cookie-of-choice – Oreos. I have M& Ms and A&W root beer and pink lemonade always at the ready.

Alastair and shrimp

Alastair’s displaying the shrimp he cooked by himself on the grill, delightfully flavored with a spicy Cajun seasoning. See what I mean?

But the day I saw Alastair take a cold orange and cream soda from the refrigerator, I was stunned. I hadn’t told him not to drink it so he didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that I know my grandson Alastair. He likes good things. He likes good food and good drink and good fun. I can’t wait until he is old enough to prepare full meals for me, because he will be a splendid cook. So the handwriting was on the wall. I knew he was going to love the orange and cream soda, and he indeed did.

Again, I must remind you that what I said above is true – I would do almost anything for my grandchildren. Except share my orange and cream soda.

So, I went to the grocery store and bought a 12-pack of Sunkist orange soda, thinking I was brilliant to have thought of such a logical solution. I put it in my refrigerator so it would be nice and cold for his next visit.

And his next visit was this past Saturday. He was there for a while when I saw him open the drawer in my refrigerator where I keep my beverages. He closed the drawer. Then I heard him go into the garage. He emerged carrying a bottle of the orange and cream soda, garage temperature notwithstanding.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I said, sounding only slightly hysterical. “Did you see that I got you some lovely Sunkist orange soda?”

“Yeah,” he answered. “But that isn’t nearly as good as this Stewart’s Orange and Cream soda. I’m going to chill this bottle so I can drink it.” And that’s what he did. He put it in the drawer. Every so often he would go check the temperature, like a soda pop sommelier. When it was exactly right, he opened the bottle, sniffed the beverage deeply, and took a long, cooling draw.

Sigh.

By the time Alastair stops by next, Bill will have successfully dug a root cellar which will be hidden by rocks in our back yard in which I will be secretly storing my Stewart’s diet orange and cream soda. In the meantime, can anyone tell me where I can buy it? It’s available from Amazon for fifty bucks for a 12-pack. Wait, what?

This post linked to the GRAND Social

Saturday Smile: We Gather Together

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These past couple of days have been days of gathering for Bill and me. Thursday night, the men of the McLain family got together for a well-deserved Boys’ Night. Since my sisters and I frequently gather for Girls’ Night, I was darn happy they got such a great opportunity. And how better to gather than at a baseball game? And, better yet, the Rockies beat the Phillies 11-2. Alastair, Bill, Dave, and Allen had a great time…..

Bill Dave Alastair Allen 2016

And yesterday I had lunch with two of my closest buddies from the days when I worked hard for a living. Mark Gallegos and Dave Martinez and I try to get together at least a couple of times a year. While we used to talk about politics, now we talk about grandkids. Times, they are a changin’…..

Tres Amigos 2

Gatherings with family and friends will always make me smile.

Have a great weekend.

Friday Book Whimsy: Redemption Road

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searchAuthor John Hart is a contemporary southern novelist along the lines of Pat Conroy or Tom Franklin, but I think his writing is even better. He hasn’t written a novel in five years, so I was eager to read Redemption Road. I was certainly not disappointed. The novel, though dark, was riveting.

Hart’s story features a lot of people who are seeking redemption. An ex- cop is getting out of prison after 15 years of serving time for a murder that he has always claimed he didn’t commit. A young boy feels it is his duty to get even with the ex-cop who he believes killed his mom. Seemingly unrelated, a young woman is kidnapped and raped by several men who are about as evil as any author can dream up.

The tie between all of these characters is Detective Elizabeth Black. She always believed Adrian Wall was innocent of the murder. She took the boy under her wing after his mother’s murder and his father’s subsequent tumble into alcoholism and drug abuse. She also has become the confidant and friend of the young rape victim.

When the murders resume the very day following Adrian Wall’s release from prison, it looks as though he will once again be accused of the crimes. But Elizabeth is certain that he is innocent and sets out to prove it.

Hart’s writing is absolutely compelling. The novel is about as dark as any I’ve ever read, but the writing kept me turning the pages.

While not a typical whodunit, the question about who is the murderer if it isn’t Adrian Wall remains unanswered until the very end. And a series of seemingly unrelated events all come together in a clever and believable manner.

Redemption Road was one of those novels that I had to be very careful about reading before bed, but it was also one of those novels that kept me reading, chapter after chapter.

I hope the author doesn’t wait as long for his next novel.

Here is a link to the book.

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Thursday Thoughts

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Cutting Up
I mentioned recently that my niece and nephew gave me a $100 gift certificate to Amazon, and I couldn’t decide how to spend it. I got several suggestions, but went with my gut and bought myself two – count ‘em – new Wusthof knives. I have a 6-inch Wusthof chef’s knife that I have loved, but decided it was too short for some jobs. So I purchased an 8-inch Wusthof cook’s knife. I don’t know the difference between a cook’s knife and a chef’s knife, but I’m pretty sure I’m more of a cook than a chef. Anyhoo, I also bought a Wusthof paring knife. I find I am using my old Chicago Cutlery paring knife more and more often, so I decided to upgrade that as well…..

Wusthof knives

Green Tea
Every year at this time, the Linden tree blossoms burst into bloom and smell magnificent. Every time I get a whiff of the smell, I’m back in my grandmother’s house in Columbus. We had a Linden tree in our front yard, and when it would bloom, Grammie would come and collect the blossoms. She would lay them out on a large piece of plastic in her spare bedroom and let them dry. From these dry blossoms, she made a green tea. That tea was the only beverage she ever offered to us. The alternative was water. Which I chose. Jen said she liked the flavor. I didn’t, but I certainly like the smell of the blossoms….

Lindon blossoms

Killjoy
Every year on the 4th of July, my mother would tell us the same thing. It’s July 4th, your summer is half over. I HATED when she would say that. It made me so sad. So yesterday when I ran to Walmart to pick up a few things, I felt my mother’s presence as I walked past the Back to School section featuring all manner of school supplies. In my heart of hearts, I realize that school will begin in something like six weeks. Nevertheless, it makes me so sad to see the days get a bit shorter each passing day. But wait. Oh, that’s right. I have a house in AZ.

Fun in the Sun
Who needs a big swimming pool when you can splash in a pool in our back yard? The grandkids – even though they are now all mostly very good swimmers – love when I blow up the pool and fill it up with water. Like my mother, I fill it part-way up with cold water from the hose. I then begin trucking in bucket after bucket of hot water so that the water temperature is perfect. I can’t have my little precious ones be cold. As it is, after a good hour of play, Cole’s teeth were chattering and Kaiya’s toes were wrinkled. They always have some kind of fun….

addie kaiya cole pool 2016

Papa Day
Last Friday Bill and I went out to dinner with some friends. Addie called me in the afternoon and asked me what time we would be home. I told her we were going to a happy hour, so it probably wouldn’t be late. Why, I asked her. Well, it seems that she declared July 1 to be Papa Day in honor of her Papa Bill. And in his honor, she baked him a chocolate cake and wanted to surprise him with it after we got home. I assured her I would keep it a secret. The hard part was keeping him from ordering dessert, but I was successful. Shortly after we got home, Addie, her brother Alastair and her mom and dad all came over for Papa Day, which she now says will be an annual event. Mark it on your calendars. July 1 – Papa Day. They also brought fireworks that they had purchased in Wyoming, where fireworks are legal, which had been sitting in their garage for a couple of years. We set off some mildly exciting fireworks and firecrackers – nothing that would get us kicked out of the neighborhood, but fun nevertheless. I can’t wait for Papa Day 2017. Here is the delicious, if somewhat crooked, cake. Four layers, donchaknow…..

papa day cake (2)

Ciao.

Celebrate

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The United States of America may have celebrated its 240th birthday on Monday, but I’m the one who is tired!

We basically celebrated for two days. And of course, when I talk about my family celebrating, I’m mostly talking food, not drink. We started off Sunday morning with Duffy rolls…..

Duffy Rolls

For those poor souls who don’t live in the Denver area, Duffy rolls are those indescribable cinnamon rolls made by the aptly-named Duffyroll Cafe, and are a Denver classic. They are not your typical cinnamon roll made from sweet bread-like dough. Duffy rolls are magically created from some sort of flaky pastry that I have never been able to get my mind around. But I certainly get my mouth around them. More than once, I’m afraid.

My niece Maggie and her family are visiting from Arizona, taking the opportunity to get away from the heat that has hovered around (and sometimes over) 110 degrees. They spent Saturday night with Bill and me (along with my sister Jen), because we were all having a big Sunday meal at Court’s and Alyx’s house. And when you’re preparing for a party, one needs party accoutrements. So what better place to prepare for the party than at Dollar Tree, known in our family as the dollar store. How much is everything? One dollah. Maggie’s 2-year-old daughter Lilly caught on quickly and spent her money well…..

Lilly dollar store (2)

Court’s menu consisted of green chili, extra-hot! But the lychee martinis created by Alyx cooled everything down. The kids, however, were already cool because they spent time poolside….

Mylee Austin pool

Although Mylee and Austin, both 5, have spent little time together in their lives, they were immediate BFFs, something I anticipated due to a mutual interest in Legos and Minecraft. And when you have Minecraft Legos, well, it doesn’t get any better than that.

There was cake for dessert, and Papa/Uncle Bill enjoyed the treat along with the kids….

zierks jensens eating cake

At the end of that afternoon, we all went outside and the kids went through several boxes of Pop-its firecrackers. But they first posed for a cousin photo…..

zierk jensen cousins

Monday, Bill and I drove to Fort Collins where we spent our Fourth of July at Jen’s house. She grilled burgers and made yummy potato salad. Maggie made a pasta salad that was supposed to feed four but looked like it would satisfy a small African village in a pinch. The family did their fair share on it, however.

After dinner, we all went to City Park in Fort Collins and watched a magnificent fireworks show. My observation is that kids either love fireworks or want nothing to do with them. Austin and Lilly fall into the “love” category. Lilly, in particular, was wholly impressed with the entire fireworks show, which was, indeed, impressive. If only the strange drunk man hadn’t fallen down at my feet just before the show began, but it is America after all, the land of the free and the home of the brave – and on the Fourth of July, the drunk.

Now it’s back to the real world of healthy food and exercise. But dang, I’m sure grateful to live in the U.S.A.

Independence Day in Italy

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Every 4th of July, I recall the Independence day Bill and I celebrated on July 4, 2008, when we were traveling in Europe during our Big Adventure. In honor of Independence Day, I am reposting the blog entry from my Reluctant Traveler blog from that day…..

FRIDAY, JULY 4, 2008

Happy Independence Day

Last night as Bill and I sat outside on our patio after dinner (occasionally glancing nervously at the bell tower to make sure it wasn’t starting to lean), we began talking about what we miss most about the United States.

“Wide roads and good highways,” Bill immediately said.

Predictable toilets was my first thought.

Other American take-for-granted things that we miss most:

Bacon-and-egg breakfast, with American coffee (and endless refills).Italians don’t eat breakfast. While they enjoy their noon and evening meals, breakfast is virtually nonexistent. They will most likely eat a roll or pastry and an espresso at a bar on their way to work. Even the cereal that Bill and I often have is more than most Italians would ever eat for breakfast.

Stores that are open all day (and some even open 24 hours). In Italy, the majority of stores are open for a period of time in the morning, and then they are closed for most of the afternoon. They will reopen somewhere around 4:30 or 5, and stay open until about 8. On Sundays they aren’t open at all. Restaurants are open from about 11:30 to 2:30, and then don’t reopen until 7 in the evening. The bars stay open, but you can generally only get a sandwich or salad. Sometimes I need something from the market, or am hungry, at times other than these. Bill recalled one time when my sister was visiting us, and when she went to leave at about 10 o’clock at night, she discovered she had a flat tire. Thanks to a 24-hour K-Mart, we were able to fix her tire.

Ice cubes. I don’t really understand the deal with no ice cubes. We are very happy that the Priest’s House has a refrigerator with a freezer because we can, and do, make ice cubes. The first night we were here, I poured some Diet Coke over some ice cubes and gave it to Bill. “Would it kill them?” I wondered.

Soft beds with soft sheets. Europeans in general like very hard mattresses and pillows that are as hard as rocks. Their bed sheets are also very stiff and hard. We finally went to an Ikea store in Padua and bought ourselves a couple of soft pillows that we carry with us. When our landlords see them, they laugh and shake their heads in puzzlement. At home I have a wonderful pillow-top mattress with two feather pillows, and I sometimes daydream about them!

Air conditioning. It is not uncommon to be without air conditioning here in Italy. The families sit outside in the evening where it is a bit cooler, and use fans. We do both of those things as well. In the summer in the United States, most people have air conditioning, and all stores are cool when you enter them. That is not so here.

Clothes dryer. There is a reason you see clothes hanging out on clotheslines throughout France and Italy. There are no clothes dryers, except in laundromats. The result? Stiff clothes.

Diversity in food and people. I lied above when I said that the first thing I thought of that I miss is predictable toilets. My real first answer was Mexican food, but I didn’t want you to know how often I think about food. The food in Europe is very good. In particular, we love the food in Italy. But we do miss the fact that in the United States on any given day you could eat Chinese, Mexican, Thai, Japanese, Italian, Ethiopian, Indian, French, Greek, and of course American barbecue, fried chicken, and hamburgers! In Italy, you can find an Indian or Chinese restaurant, and occasional sushi, but you have to really look for it. The same is true for the people. There is just not the same richness of diversity in people and ethnic or cultural backgrounds as there is in the United States.

Our English language. Bill and I have done remarkably well with language, particularly here in Italy. As I have said before, the Italians are so eager to help you and try to understand what you are saying. We have been able to communicate very well with our little bit of Italian and the Italian’s agreeability. Still, we miss turning on the television and hearing an English-language news broadcast. We miss hearing a Mass in English. We miss the ease of being able to communicate in English.

Now, I want to be perfectly clear that there are things here in Italy that we will miss very much when we go back home. The pizza here, baked in wood burning ovens, is hands down the best we will ever eat. The Italian people, as I have already indicated, are friendly, warm, polite, and just funny as can be. They will always greet you with a cheerful buon giorno or buona serra. The love and connection that the Italian people have to their history is remarkable and enviable, as demonstrated at the Palio on Wednesday. The meat and produce here are wonderful. And, finally, the wine is scrumptious and amazingly inexpensive.

While we have enjoyed our experience immensely, Bill and I will definitely not be the kind of people who will come back to the United States sneering at the supposed commercialism, greed, and crassness of its people. Instead, we will never again take for granted the wonderful things our country has to offer.

By the way, the photo is the closest we could come to finding an American flag. The flag is on a bag of hot dog buns, or as it says on the package hotdog roll (no ‘s’).

Happy birthday America!

I’m Proud to Be An American

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If tomorrow all the things were gone I’d worked for all my life,
And I had to start again with just my children and my wife.
I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today,
‘Cause the flag still stands for freedom and they can’t take that away.

And I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

From the lakes of Minnesota, to the hills of Tennessee,
across the plains of Texas, from sea to shining sea,

From Detroit down to Houston and New York to LA,
Well, there’s pride in every American heart,
and it’s time to stand and say:

I’m proud to be an American where at least I know I’m free.
And I won’t forget the men who died, who gave that right to me.
And I’d gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
‘Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land God bless the U.S.A.

Lee Greenwood

Kaiya was may two or three when she knew she was proud to be an American!

Kaiya was 2 years old when she knew she was proud to be an American!

Happy Independence Day to my family and friends. God bless America!