Snails are molluscs or gastropods and they have only one foot. In my house in the country I had not only mice but snails perambulating around. Of course, with only one foot one can’t really say they walk. They creep or crawl. Maybe even slither. Which they do of course. There have even been snail races.Continue reading “The Snail”
Author Archives: Erika Bizzarri
Mice or Mouses?
Years ago, when I lived in the country by myself, I had to lay down the law for mice. One can’t help liking these little creatures, until one sees the havoc they can create. Yesterday a piece of chocolate left over from an Easter egg displayed a series of tooth marks on one edge. Aha!Continue reading “Mice or Mouses?”
Bilingual
Same concept, dfferent language Don’t know if it is a matter of age, but when one is what can be considered bilingual, and the equivalent of a word in that other language refuses to come to mind, one starts worrying. At least it takes time for that word one is looking for to surface. IContinue reading “Bilingual”
Postscript to Homeless
FREEDOM ABOVE ALL Of the various comments on my post, Homeless by Choice, a particularly lovely one was in the form of an email from Marilyn, a former student of mine when I was teaching at Gonzaga in Florence in the 1970S. She stayed with us in Orvieto that summer and we remained in touch. Now aContinue reading “Postscript to Homeless”
Easter
a post that is a bit overdue Easter is late this year but it doesn’t really matter unless you depend on school holidays. Particularly if your father is a teacher. And I always seem to be a bit late with my posts. With a family that wasn’t particularly family oriented, holidays like Halloween for instanceContinue reading “Easter”
What Happens to Montalbano?
Camilleri, the father of the Italian police commissioner Salvo Montalbano, which became a series of mystery stories published by Sellerio, was originally a stage director and playwright. It is tempting to compare him to Pirandello, the Sicilian author known for his plays and short stories and awarded the Nobel prize in 1934. Camilleri died atContinue reading “What Happens to Montalbano?”
Homeless by Choice
Gaunt, with a straggly flowing grey beard and hair, he sits huddled in the doorway of the bank at the crossing of two of the main streets in town. Or you may find him on the short street that leads to the market where he is more sheltered from the wind. Wrapped in a blanket,Continue reading “Homeless by Choice”
If only or what if
Hah! It’s not the if only of several weeks ago. It has to do with the ould verbs. Could, would, should. Will have to check the etymology. Is it subjunctive? Oh dear, here one gets into Old English. I could have, I would have, I should have. None of which is what I did. However, this led me toContinue reading “If only or what if”
Francesco
If only he hadn’t wanted to finish weed-wacking that field. He’d put in a new cutting string that whirled around and effortlessly did away with what most people called weeds. Some were and some weren’t. He knew the difference and most of them, in one way or the other, were edible. You might have toContinue reading “Francesco”
Old Age
Finally old age has caught up with me. I had thought of it as an inevitable disease, but about which we can do little. It is there,lurking and waiting to surface, like shingles. It may not appear for a long time, but it’s there. Sooner or later we will all be getting older. It dependsContinue reading “Old Age”
Perks
Perks or unexpected aspects of what happened. Well, not exactly a perk but a way of looking at the positive side of having broken my leg. My computer screen, in addition to the usual trademark Apples, accompanies them with the words “We love you”, a reminder of the presence of my sons. Thanks to them,Continue reading “Perks”
The Clinic
After my operation, for a few weeks I am in a clinic or struttura as they call it, named after a saint. The nuns who manage it recite their morning prayers before helping the inmates (I suppose that is what one can call them) begin their daily activities of coloring a line drawing of aContinue reading “The Clinic”
Accident
It was two,o’clock in the morning. I was asleep and Teah my dog barked. just once. She needed, or wanted, to go out to the patio, a few steps up. I let her out and on returning, the light goes out and I forget that there is a step. Suddenly I am on the floorContinue reading “Accident”
Ninety Six
February 15, ninety six years ago just after midnight I was washed and dressed in what might be called swaddling clothes. Now almost a century later I am still being washed and clothed.but it is no longer the same for the roles, have been reversed and it is not easy to accept that it isContinue reading “Ninety Six”
Christmas 2024
It’s Christmas! or Hanukkah, of whatever you like. It’s a time to celebrate family and love. I can’t say peace and prosperity since that seems rather far away in the world at this moment. So our best greetings from the Orvieto gang in the person of Costanza. Let’s hope for the future, which is aboutContinue reading “Christmas 2024”
Encounters
Fleeting encounters I remember, but do they? One never knows what life will hold in store. Throughout the years we cross paths with people of all kinds, for all kinds of reasons. Perhaps I was more likely to have a variety of encounters since I had a shop on the cathedral square, since the localContinue reading “Encounters”
Romanesque Memories
It must have been in the seventies. A friend of ours, one of several Marios around, was teaching a course on Romanesque art in Florence, for which a tour of France, Sardinia and Tuscany had been organized. First a word about Mario Bucci, a professor we all loved, perhaps because of, or in spite of, hisContinue reading “Romanesque Memories”
Roads not Taken, Lives not Lived
One wonders sometimes what life would have been like had we taken a different road. One can’t help but thinking of Robert Frost and the road not taken. If only … I could have … Why didn’t I? Everyone has a story to tell. Everyone is what one is because of a life that perhapsContinue reading “Roads not Taken, Lives not Lived”
Books once more
By its very nature, the printed word is an incommensurable subject. Books are a never-ending delight. Well, maybe not all of them. There are certainly some you may wish you’d never encountered, books that haunt you when you would rather sleep. Yet sometimes it is the other way around. Those nagging thoughts of what you didContinue reading “Books once more”
Shopping with Ma
Time has come to figure out what to write for next week’s post. Once I get one done and sent to my editor, it’s time for the next, which will probably mean I’ll stay awake half the night “thinking”. This time I have been rescued by my son, God bless him. Undoubtedly, it’s thanks toContinue reading “Shopping with Ma”
Erika Bizzarri 