The Further Adventures of Capt. Eddie
What's that boy up to now?
You may or may not know that in 2012 I had a minor heart attack, caused by a blocked coronary artery. My cardiologist cleared the artery and inserted a stent, and I’ve been in good shape ever since. But he also put me on some daily medication: three different prescription drugs, plus a baby aspirin, every day.
As we were planning our move to Italy, I had to give some consideration to making sure I …
Fun at the Farmacia (Life in Italy) Read More
Voice of the Narrator (who sounds remarkably like William “Bill” Conrad): “Last time, you remember, our hero was waiting for the local police to arrive at his apartment to verify that he actually lived there. They needed to do this because he had applied for residency in his new town of La Maddalena, and this police check was part of the process.
“Just after the closing theme and the running of the closing credits for …
Adventures at the Anagrafe (Life in Italy) Read More
As I have gone through the process of claiming my Italian citizenship and now moving to Italy, I’ve learned a lot of interesting things. Perhaps the most surprising one, to me at least, is the sheer number of people who are doing exactly what I’ve done: claiming their citizenship by birthright and then moving — permanently — to Italy.
I am in a Facebook group called “Americans Living in Italy.” That group currently has …
Quietly, a Mass Exodus from the U.S. is Underway Read More
You can’t talk about Italy without talking about the bureaucracy. No matter how much you might love the country, the people, the food, the atmosphere… there is still that slow-moving, often-conflicting, left-hand-doesn’t-know-what-the-right-hand-is-doing, we-have-a-rule-for-everything-and-then-some Italian bureaucracy.
I’ve heard and read stories of it innumerable times. Now I’m plunging into it myself.
I will say at the outset, however, that being an Italian citizen actually does seem to cut through much of the red tape. Which is …
Dealing with the Bureaucracy (Life in Italy) Read More
So… It is five weeks ago today that we landed in Sardinia, opening up not just a new chapter in our lives, but an entirely new volume. Somewhat surprisingly, it was almost Alice-through-the-looking-glass easy — you step onto an airplane leaving one dimension, you step off that plane and you’re in a whole other dimension. Boom, just like that — your entire reality has changed, in what seems like just the blink of an eye.…
Through the Looking-Glass and Into Italy Read More
If you only read this blog and don’t follow my personal page on Facebook, then you tend to miss out on a lot of things in my life. Because, I admit it, I post on Facebook a lot more than I post here.
For one thing, it’s easier, almost Twitter-like. Just have a thought and post it. Posting on this blog, by contrast, I treat much more seriously — like I’m writing an article. It …
The Big Move Read More
A week after I voted in the U.S. presidential election, I sent in my ballot for the Italian Constitutional Referendum, which is taking place on December 4th.
I voted “no.”
The referendum is a rather complex beast which I suspect a lot of Italians who live in Italy don’t altogether understand, let alone those of us Italians by blood who live elsewhere. It is billed by its proponents as a series of reforms intended to …
Ho Votato “No” Read More