#2 Friday, March 7 Our First Day in Italy or "I haven't come this far for a drive by look at the Leaning Tower."

Let me preface this entry by saying, if I had known how the day would turn out, I would have spent more time praying after reading my devotion on the plane.

The day begins with a beautiful sunrise over the Alps. I pass on the breakfast and drink the cup of o.j. and go to the restroom to freshen up a bit (ha ha). We debark and go through a passport check and then claim our luggage. Pablo, our bus driver, is waiting for us with the obligatory "Mr. Brindley" sign and leads us to our bus, our home for the day. May I interject at this point I did not know a bus could look so good after sitting between two strangers for eight hours. We load our luggage and head into Milan to see the Duomo, the second largest cathedral in Italy after St. Peter's. Basilica in Rome.

On the hour ride, we get a glimpse of the outer city of Milan and the thoroughfare, along with the blooming shrubs, flowers and trees. The foliage is much like that of Mississippi , bright yellow forsythia, Japanese magnolias, and the glossy green leaf magnolias.

We arrive at the center of Milan to visit our destination. Old buildings with scroll work, sculpture and the necessary gargoyle rain spouts line the streets. We walk through an elegant shopping piazza with Armani, Prada, Ferragamo, and other Italian fashion names lining the the street and offering the finest and most expensive merchandise. One of the streets leads to the open piazza and the Duomo. After spending time on and around the ground floor of the cathedral, some of us ride the lift to the top while others climb the steps (Yay, Drew) to view the piazza below and the city with the Alps in the distance. We also see the La Scala Opera House from the outside only since it is closed to visitors this day.

The Duomo in Milan. The boards in front are part of scaffolding that is being used in cleaning the building. The church is the largest example of Gothic architecture in Italy.

I'm standing on the steps of the cathedral with the Piazza del Duomo in the background.

The Piazza del Duomo from the roof of the cathedral.

We load the bus again for a four hour ride to Pisa to the the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa, which will stay etched in my mind for a long while. A quick stop at an Autogrill puts us on our way to Pisa. Note: There is the phenomenon all around the major highways in Italy known as an Autogrill. It is a fancy version of what we have here in the states known as a truck stop. There are quarters for drivers to rest and shower and restrooms for travelers to visit for a needed break. But this is where the similarity stops. There is also a fast food court of sorts, along with a mini grocery store and shopping area--think Cracker Barrel but more sophisticated. You can purchase fast food, pizza, and pasta along with fries and cokes. But even better, is the Italian sandwiches you can purchase with all kinds of meats, seasonings, cheeses, and veggies. They are served on flat breads or panini bread or hard rolls. Never underestimate the meal that can be purchased at the Autogrill! The Greshams need to look into this concept for the Double Quick. I regret I did not get a picture of the Autogrill setup. At this point, I was not hungry so I did not even go in. I ate a pack of nabs and drank some water, a decision I would later regret.

We make our way over the mountains of northern Italy and drive south heading to Pisa. We have a very sleepy drive through the Tuscany region and countryside. I have often heard of the beautiful Tuscany area, but this part was not that beautiful. As a mater of fact, it reminded me of the Mississippi Delta with its areas of poverty and rundown landscape. We are now traveling in rain that turns to snow as we climb the elevation. Haiden, one of the students on the trip, is disappointed when we go back down and the snow turns to rain again. We drive into a rainy Pisa, but our spirits are not dampened, at least some of our spirits are not dampened, and we prepare to see the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Note: As a young student in school, I was always mesmerized by pictures I would see of the Leaning Tower, and it was a dream of mine to see it at some point in my life, so rain was not going to stop me now.

As we get off the bus, we are surrounded by Africans hawking umbrellas to protect us from the rain, no matter that we had on rain gear and our own umbrellas. They could be rather forceful and intimidating, and we had to respond with a forceful "No!" at times. I could see where they could be rather scary to our little whitebred southern belle students. But isn't that the purpose of travel, to be exposed to life and get out of our comfort zone? Remember that comfort zone statement! Anyway, we load on to a shuttle bus that takes us to a drop off point and then walk on to the old city gate of Pisa. Note: It is important to take in your surroundings as you walk in unfamiliar places, i.e. keep you mouth shut and watch where you are going. We walk along the old city wall and then look to the left and see the Leaning Tower, framed by an archway. We enter through the arched gate, and there is the picture I had gazed upon so many times. I had finally made it to see The Leaning Tower of Pisa.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa bathed in the rain.

It is still raining, and the faint of heart decide they have seen enough. Not me. In my own words, "I have not come this far for a drive by look at the Leaning Tower." I purchase my ticket with several others from our group and prepare to tour the Baptistery, Church and the Tower. We learn that we are too late to go up into the tower but can tour the inside of the other two structures. I have my obligatory picture made with my traveling buddies and head out to see the sites as they head back to the bus. Sissies!

Cathy, DK and Shirley at the Leaning Tower of Pisa

Those who know me well, know what a detail person I am, so when I visit a museum or point of interest, I read every plaque and look intently at every statue and painting. It is no different here. I wander the Baptistery and the Church and walk around the Tower, looking at it from every angle. It is still raining, and the sun is starting to fade. Time to go. Where is my crew? Which way do I get back to the drop off? "Do you speak English? ", "Inglese?", "Dove la polizia?" Yes, I am officially separated from my group. Notice I do not say lost. I know where I am. I just can't get back to my group. Okay, what to do? My rational self says, "Stay here. Do not wander the streets tryinig to find your way!" My spiritual self prays to God to keep me safe and put good people in my path. My mortal self says, "You have messed up royally!", and I am really out of my comfort zone.

I stand in the rain for 45 minutes talking to my self, asking for directions to the bus drop off from vendors and walking no more than two blocks in each direction trying to find the drop-off. I ask an ambulance driver to call the police for me. I think several times, "If only I had kept my mouth shut and paid attention to my surroundings, I would not be in this predicament." It is dark now, and I am soaked. A taxi ride to Florence will be too expensive, but I could take a train to Florence if I could get a taxi to take me to the train station. Where are the polizia? Yeah, they have no intention of coming and are laughing at the Americano stupido. Every scenario of how to catch up to my group runs through my mind. Then out of the dark and rain I hear, "DK!" I turn to see John Brindley, my beautiful beautiful friend Shirley, and backup man, Robert Sledge. "Yes, Lord you are good!; I am rescued!" They inform me that a bus load of concerned folks is waiting on me and Mary Ruth is near tears, imagining every worse scenario from the Africans dragging me off to my wandering the streets alone. We start back and I realize my path to the bus drop off is as simple as following the city wall. Duh!!!!

A group sigh of relief goes up when everyone sees my red coat, and as I get on the bus there is a silence followed by several hushed,"Thank God!" Tears are rolling down Mary Ruth's checks, and she hugs me out of relief that she doesn't have to call my husband and tell him she lost me, or should I say I lost myself. Now that she is relieved, she is ready to kill me, never mind our 20 year friendship. An hour late we leave Pisa, headed for Florence with a bus load of relieved adults and hungry kids.

Well, I have seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa and can check that off my Bucket List. Now, I need to figure out how to get back in MR's good graces and profess my mea culpas!

Okay, I know you're asking, "Why didn't you just call someone on the bus?" I didn't have a phone. Only one person brought a phone with international minutes, and I did not have that number. I also did not have the local number of the bus driver or the number of EuroAmerican, who could have gotten in touch with the bus driver. We had not really made a group plan of what to do if we got separated from our group. Needless to say, all this was covered before our next day.

Several people asked me if I cried. Those of you who know me, know that I cry quite easily when I talk about my spiritual faith, think about my family, or watch touching movies and tv programs. But, when I get in this type of situation, crying is the farthest emotion from my mind. I try to be as logical as possible, which is one of the reasons MR was so worried. She knew me too well to know that I would not show up without a good reason. The rest of the trip the question was, "Is DK with us?" or "Where is the red coat?"

After after a two hour bus ride, we arrive in the dark thanks to me, in Florence, throw our luggage in the hotel bar and walk to our restaurant to eat. What a wonderful way to end such a miserable day. We dine at the La Marmare Ristorante and begin with bread and olive oil and fresh ground pepper. Wine is ordered all around and we wait for the first course. The waiter brings a penne pasta with a cheesy sauce. I have to remember not to stuff myself because in Italian fashion there is another course coming. Next is a cut of beef smothered in a gravy with roasted potatoes. Our dessert is a like a flan custard with a chocolate sauce and powdered sugar. Yeah, it was a wonderful meal!!! It was even more wonderful because I only had eaten a pack of nabs and drank o.j. all day long.

We stroll back to the hotel, but before arriving, Cathy manages to trip and fall. It is a very easy thing to do with the cobblestone streets and curbs. She doesn't hurt any bones but does a real number on her knee and manages to rip a tear in her jeans across the entire knee. We settle into room 203 of the River Hotel on the Arno River. We take our much-needed baths. Remember we haven't had a bath since we left the good ole US of A. After our baths we fall into our beds for the soundest sleep I have had in a long time.

#1 Thursday, March 6 We Are on Our Way

Okay, I don't care who you are; 4:00 am is too early for anyone to get up, even if we are leaving for Italy in an hour and a half. Anyway, I literally drag myself out of the bed to get ready. After two cups of coffee and a bowl of oatmeal (Oatmeal just does not taste as good at 4:00 am as it does around 8:30 am while I sit in my swing and watch the birds at the feeders.), I am ready to go. Lance gets me loaded up after twenty questions of, "Do you have . . . ?", and we pick up Mrs. Mary Kat and head to Indianola Academy.

We check in with Debbie to prove we have our passports and money and then scout out a spot on the bus. My traveling buddies Shirley and Cathy arrive, and after hugs and kisses all around, we are Atlanta bound. We ride for six hours discussing every topic under the sun, while for me re-establishing some acquaintances in some cases and forming new friendships in others. We eat our box lunches and arrive at the airport to get checked-in and wait to board our plane for an eight-hour flight. We get settled in our seats and are on our way.

Shirley, Cathy, Mrs. Mary Kat and DK: Look out Italy! Here we come.

Naturally, in trying to teach me patience, the Lord to whom I am giving credit along with the airline, puts me in the middle seat of a three-seat row. "Stuck in the middle with you" runs through my mind as the Italian man to my right manages to use me for a pillow for half the flight, and while the woman next to me, who is pleasant enough, struggles to get out of the seat each time I need to get up to go to the restroom or to walk around to fight off cabin fever and getting stiff (Getting stiff is what happens to us older people, and it keeps our lives interesting.). Note: There is something unnatural about traveling in such close quarters and trying to sleep, one of the most intimate and vulnerable times in our daily routine. I am renewing my promise to myself to fly first class at least one time in my life. I hope my pocket book will agree. Two movies later (August Rush and Jane Austen Book Club) the morning finally dawns over the Alps as we begin our descent to the Milan airport.

"I'm Back!"

In the words of the Terminator, "I'm back!" Our group returned to the states from Italy on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. Atlanta time, and we arrived in Indianola at 1:00 a.m. to the open arms of our families. It really goes without saying, but I will say it anyway, we had a great time! No, we had a fantastic time!!!! If I could have a day or two of rest, I would return in a heartbeat. The country was beautiful, the food was great and the fellowship was unmatchable (Is there such a word?). This is a short post to let all my avid readers (yeah, right) know I will be posting my journal little by little with some pics. Overall the weather was great after the first few days of rain and the sites were amazing. The Leaning Tower of Pisa will forever stay etched in my mind; story to follow, and I plan to try cooking every dish I tasted along the way. I think I have some Italian blood running in my veins. There are a few questions I am pondering: Why are there no wash rags in the hotel bathrooms?, Why do the Italian toliets have no handle with which to flush the toliet?, Why is a bath not an everyday routine for the Italians?, Why do the Italians have such beautiful children?, How do the Italians fit in such small cars?, Will the American dollar ever become stablized enough for us not to have to spend $4.50 for a canned coke? Yes, $4.50!!!

Ciao, Baby!

I am trying my best to pack for 10 days in Italy in a carry on bag and a Vera Bradley medium size duffel bag. I can carry a larger bag that can be checked, but I really don't want to bother with luggage claim and all the other million bags that look alike, although I don't have that problem either since my luggage is red, my favorite color. Am I making a big deal out of nothing? Probably so. However, with the help of Chico's travelers, jeans, and Merrills, I am doing pretty good. The problem is that one quart bag that has to hold all the toiletries I have to have for 10 days, along with meds and make-up. Now, I am not a high maintenance girl (maybe that's where Laura gets it from), but come on--a quart bag! One of the Lalis traveled to France last summer for three weeks in a carry on and a quart bag. She is our world traveler and a master at packing, but somewhere I missed out on the lesson about packing in a quart bag. Help Ellen!!!!!

I hope to have some wonderful tales to tell and even better pictures to share when I get back. Say tuned.

Oh, for the record, I'm not really a fatalist, but I did go to see my very special grandsons and daughter and son-in-law this weekend in case there is a reason I might not make it back home. That would be a shame too because they are the best! Lord, I am in Your hands. Thy will be done. Pictures follow.

Am I cute or what?

Poppa hanging out with the boys

Trying out my new rain boots

Also, I stopped by to see my parents--hugs all around, even an offer of money but I turned it down. I know Laura, I' m a dork!!! I've heard it before.

Okay, I posted earlier that I was looking forward to my get together with the Lalis. Well, the Lalis reunion was great. I am very fortunate to have a friend who has a "boat house"* at Lake Caroline in Madison, and we stayed there last week-end. We were short two Lalis, one because of family health problems and one because a commitment she could not shirk. However, the four that were together carried on the esprit de corps. After a wonderful dinner at the Strawberry Cafe in Madison, an establishment I highly recommend, we had an evening of catching up and supporting one of the Lalis over the phone who was not able to come. Every family should be as blessed to have a family member like this Lali, who is selfless enough to take care of a relative who has no one else and she does it, I'm sorry to say, to the detriment of herself. She is in our prayers. Saturday morning we had a leisurely breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls and cheese grits and three pots of coffee. We left mid-morning for a visit to the museum of art in its new location and took in two wonderful exhibits along with the regular exhibition. If you enjoy art and are in Jackson, please stop to see the High School Academic 2008 exhibit. Our state is blessed with some wonderful young artists in all mediums. We ate lunch at Keifer's and stopped by Eudora Welty's home in the Belhaven area, which was closed but that did not keep us from enjoying the view and the wonderful weather. After a few stops we made it back to the "boat house" for an evening of salad, bread and homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs, courtesy of my mother-in-law's recipe. She was a wonderful Italian cook, and I have finally have mastered the sauce recipe, at least that's what my family says. Another late night of talking and Sunday morning coffee followed, and we all headed our separate directions, knowing that we will be back together in May for a visit to New Orleans. (At this point let me say how upset I was when I realized I had forgotten my camera. That is not something I do often. So I have no pics of the week-end. However two of my Lali friends do. If I can get to them soon, I will add pics later.)

Now, I know this may sound rather boring, but to us our visit was a source of rejuvenation and the forming of a stronger bond. Since we had been to together last, one Lali has lost her mother and also had an unexpected revelation at the birth of her grandson. Another's daughter is in a search of a job that has been somewhat disappointing after finishing her Doctorate in English and who also is dealing long distant with a mother who is in the mid-stages of dementia/Alzheimer's. Another's husband is overcoming heart problems and she is facing pain from TMJ. The aforementioned Lali is facing evenings of taking care of her aunt after working during the day. One is doing pretty well right now , and I am, too. Because of our visit, many of these situations do not seem as impossible when we have a chance to talk through them and gain from the experiences of the others, and, more importantly, know that we are in each others' prayers. I love you Lalis!!!!

*Boat house may be a missnomer for the place we stayed. Full kitchen, great room, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2 decks, and a wonderful view of Lake Caroline. Nice digs for a boat and the Lalis!

The Lalis

Okay, I mentioned last time that I was getting excited about getting together with The Lalis. We have planned a reunion for the week-end of Feb. 22-24 in Madison at a friend's boat house on Lake Caroline. For some reason southern women tend to hang on to their friends and form lasting rellationships. I can't say that I still have close ties to my high school friends, but I have a bond with four different sets of friends that go back to my college years and extend to the last ten years. I firmly believe we make close friends because we each fill a spot in the other that brings us comfort, validation and love. That's what The Lalis do for me.

Celebrating Barb's daughter's marriage

We are a group of six women who worked together from 15 to 25 years in the department of Language and Literature at Mississippi Delta Community College. We named ourselves The Ladies of Language and Literature, The Lalis for short. I guess you could say we are the English equivalent of the YaYa Sisterhood or Idgie and Ruth in Fried Green Tomatoes. We have been through raising children together, suffering deaths of parents together, surviving divorces together, celebrating graduation and marriages of children together, becoming grandparents together, and overcoming professional upheavals together, all the while trying our best to impart a love of writing, language and literature to students who for the most part we forced to learn in spite of themselves. We have all since retired from the department, and our paths have widened some, but we are still as close as if we were just down the hall from each other.

At a bed and breakfast in St. Francisville, Louisiana, before we head out on a day trip

Who are these ladies? Sandra is a life long resident of Moorhead and was the head of our department. She was and still is our leader, our mentor, our boss, our guide. Our respect for her was/is unparalled. Mac, a.k.a. Barb, is our New Orleans native who is probably the deepest thinker of us all and the only one who can say, "Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" better than anyone I know. Ellen is our world traveler, celebrity magnet and language expert who is always up for an adventure, as evidenced by our retirement adventure in her honor. Karen is a fellow high school friend and lifeguard and swimming instructor who ventured back into my life around 1979. She has such a soft heart and an act of violence is the most foreign concept to her. Daphney has a sense of flair for the unusual and an understanding of literature few are able to match. As for me, I am told that I am the most anal retentive of the group, whatever that means!

Our vow was to never let our friendship die. As result, we get together every 3 to 4 months to share what is going on in our lives and to plan a trip of some kind for the next get together. Our travel lust was formed in the years that we traveled to TYCA-SE (a professional group for English teachers) around the south. We have walked the tree-lined streets of Savannah together, toured the Dali museum in St. Petersburg together, eaten ribs at the Rendezvous in Memphis together, traveled the back country of Louisiana and ventured around the streets of post Katrina New Orleans together, and yes, even canoed down the Mississippi River together. We have dissected just about every topic there is to discuss, and sometimes the discussion can get fairly heated, for even though we are the best of friends, I don't know of any six people who could have such diverse opinions on every topic and be willing to express those opinions and still remain close friends.

It is our tradition that when one of us retires, we get to choose how the group will celebrate the retirement. With our first retirement of Mac, we had a party, and I must say it was a fun party with our husbands in attendance. We had great food and a great roast of Mac. We then stepped it up a bit for Karen and Sandra by going to New Orleans and wandering around the town and treating ourselves to wonderful food and wine. Then came Ellen's retirement. Remember that I said she is always up for an adventure. That is an understatement. Her choice for her reitrement celebration was to canoe down the Mississippi River. It was the most fun we have ever had together, even though my and Sandra's husbands threatened to divorce us for endangering our lives on such a dangerous trip. We did not tell Ellen that until the trip was over. For my retirement, we were a bit less adventurous. I had always said we would go to Graceland--I have never been and it is my opinion that no self-respecting southerner should be able admit that--and stay at the Peabody. The Peabody proved to be a bit expensive for us for the entire week-end, and I just don't think their hearts were into all things Elvis. So we did the next best thing, found a good place to eat. I chose Emril's new place on the Gulf Coast. The meal was wonderful and as Ellen always does, she found a connection, this time to the waiter; he was from Boston, her home.

Adventure: Canoeing Down the Mississippi River

Starting at the Quapaw Canoe Company in Clarksdale, MS

Paddling down the river with our guide

The Mississipp River stretches out before us.

We make it to the end of our journey at Fariar's Point. John Rusky. June Bug, D.K., Daphney, Karen. Sandra, Barb, and Ellen

So now you can see why I am so excited about seeing the other Lalis. I think we will be planning a retirement adventure for Daphney. She has hinted that this may be her last year to teach. There is no telling what she will want to do. DK

Sustaining Water

If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. John 4: 10 (NIV)

Okay, I am going to take some time away from family to share one of the most incredible evenings in my study of God's word. Our Esther group at church is involved in a Beth Moore study entitled Breaking Free . This study has been a very enlightening study as far as having us search within ourselves to find and examine those aspects in our lives that keep us from having a life sustaining relationship with God. The study for the night was based on John 4: 1-42 better known as the story of The Woman at the Well. It is the familiar story of Jesus' encounter with a woman of ill repute who had been married five times and who was living with a sixth man. The story ends with her declaring Jesus to be the Messiah in words of which she may not have realized were significant.

Although not new but needed repeated, three points were etched into my brain, more importantly my heart. As with the woman at the well, we have sins that we hide and that have brought us shame, and because of the guilt they bring, there is an abyss (Moore's term) that keeps us from God. It is into this separation that Satan inserts himself and begins to work to destroy our relationship with God. We need to remember God already knows the sin and is more than willing to forgive us if we only ask.

Also the woman told the people of the town, "He told me everything I ever did" 4:39 (NIV). On the surface these words appear to be a statement from the woman as to what Jesus had told her about her sinful self. Yet, in her words she was admitting openly she was sinful and Jesus knew it. Amazingly, these words tell us that Christ confronts our sin, all the while allowing us to keep our dignity. Consequently, if the guilt we feel over our sin continues to separate from God, it is our unbelief that separates us, not the judgement of God. He has forgiven us; we need to forgive ourselves.

Finally, in light of the scripture above, there is a word that continually keeps us from experiencing all God has in store for us, IF. How many times have we said, "IF"-- "If I had more time", "If I had more money ", "If I had gotten up earlier", etc. Jesus told the woman if she had only known the gift of God and to whom she was talking she would not have hesitated to give him a drink and she would have known he could have given her more that just a drink of water; he could have given her living water. Unlike the woman, thankfully, I know the gift of God and I know who it is who asks of me on a daily basis. Now, I need only remember He continually offers me living water, the only water that can sustain me.

Each night after we have watched the lesson video, we sit in silence and marvel at the profound wisdom Beth Moore offers. It is my prayer that you are experiencing God's sustaining water.

As I said when I started this blog, my life is fairly routine. I don't even have a picture to offer this time. I do have two events to look forward to and hope to share with you soon: a Lalis get together the end of February and a trip to Italy over Spring Break. Then as the Spirit moves, I will share God's amazing love as revealed through the Beth Moore study and Explorers' Bible Study. Oh, did I mention that we listen to Dr. David Jeremiah in Sunday School?

Well, before making this post, I checked Laura's blog to see if there was anything new in her life these last couple of days that she had not told be about on the phone. It looks like we are in the same place of being struck by God's awesome love. Like mother, like daughter. DK

We Survived!! Christmas 2007

Well, we survived Christmas. I know that sounds awful to say, but by the end of Christmas Day and New Year's Day, I usually feel like I have been run over by a truck. This Christmas was one of the best for me. Could it have something to do with having grandchildren?? I shopped on-line with a vengeance. The UPS delivery man and I met several times in the days leading up to Christmas. We spent the holiday at Chase and Laura's, along with my mama and daddy. William got into the presents and Santa Claus and baby Jesus' birthday. Wes was as mellow as always. We spent New Years with our friends the Turners and the Dickersons, eating and watching football and catching up on family news. The diet starts tomorrow. I have included some pictures from Christmas eve and day. HAPPY NEW YEAR! DK

Putting out reindeer food and cookies and milk for Santa

Posing in our Christmas jammies

Look what Santa brought us!!

Delivering presents like Santa

How does this look, Coach Croom?!!!!!!! Future Bulldog??

Family pic Christmas '07 and 3 generations (Baria, Jaudon, Taylor)