Before he died when I was a year old, my father was the proprietor of Gioia’s Pizzeria in the town of Batavia, New York. His partners were his younger brother Dick and nephew Ronnie. Of course, because of my age I never tasted his pizza, and perhaps was never taken to his restaurant. I know […]

It irks me when my two very accomplished and astute daughters tell me I have too much stuff. Granted, I live in a small house and space is an issue but a large percentage of the things I have are mementos. It’s a new year and like many others, I feel an urgency to start

I’ve owned hundreds of pets throughout my life, most of them being dogs and cats. From the first dog I can remember in early childhood, a Border Collie named Princess to my most recent two, a Great Pyrenees and Chihuahua, I have loved each one of them. Yet, there are a select few that for

F was one of the elderly people I came to know as a caregiver, a job I took on a few years ago to supplement my income. She was my third client and up until her passing at midnight this morning, the one I worked with the longest. When we caregivers first began with F,

Sunday, June 18, 2023 Maastricht, Netherlands When the Flixbus turned onto the highway toward Maastricht, the little town I’d visited a few days before, I felt a weight drop off me. I inwardly sighed feeling like I was in a good place. I remember having this same feeling every time I cross the border back

Saturday, June 17, 2023 Let’s just say I can’t get out of this town, this country fast enough. It’s 2 ½ hours before my bus leaves. I’ve been at the station since 11 am, four hours before I needed to be there. I booked a 3:45 pm bus because of the price $19.95, the direct

Saturday, June 17, 2023 Brussels, Belgium 8:00 AM Holed up in a hotel in the city center of Brussels I have the television on to a station that has music in the background while showing panoramic views of various landscapes. It is quite soothing while I write about yesterday’s adventures. The hotel that I left

Thursday, June 15, 2023 Amsterdam 7:07 pm Yesterday I checked into my city center hotel. The hotel and room are wonderful, life outside not so much. I find Amsterdam to be too overwhelming with people, shops, smell, and filth (much more apparent at 7:00 in the morning after the revelers have gone to bed). I

Wednesday, June 14, 2023 Haarlem, Netherlands 8:40 am My body still felt the effects of jet lag yesterday, although I had a fairly good night’s sleep. After packing I left the lovely hotel in headed to the Amsterdam train station via tram around 9:00 am. I found that several businesses throughout the city would store

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 6:20 am Amsterdam, Netherlands This is the beginning of day two of my solo journey. To say that it has been challenging is an understatement. At first, I didn’t feel like writing, nor sharing with anyone via phone, text, or social media because of what I’m going through. As I lay