This is my world

Rome, Italy
17:17
75 degrees

This is my world...
Or at least my view of it.

It’s Saturday here and the city is quiet.  Just a lazy fall day.  I am on the veranda.  In the background are the sounds of children playing, people talking, a Vespa, an occasional car.  This is my hood.

I never understood dense city living.  Could not comprehend it as I grew up in suburban PDX.  For those of you from Philly or New York or Baltimore, well, it’s old hat.  But it was foreign to me.  Now, perhaps, I am beginning to understand it.  It’s just a small town, my little three block area.  If I knew the language, I would know the people down the block and across the street... I would wave at the lady on her patio, because maybe I would have seen her this morning at the market.  I find the whole scene rather reassuring - comfortable - satisfying - warm...

A soft warm wind moves across my shoulders - church bells ring - it’s time to hang the laundry.