Apr 21, 2025
If you’re reading a lot of LinkedIn right now, as I am, you might think a rethink is in order. You’d be in good company. Lauren Kaplan’s LinkedIn post titled “Rethinking Foreign Aid in Africa: Between Dependency and Development” asks a pressing question:...
Jan 29, 2025
Yesterday Ramon surprised me with a foot massage. He has innumerable wonderful qualities, but this has never happened before. I think he’s worried about me. I am too. All U.S. foreign aid – a fraction of 1% of the U.S. budget – has been halted. And...
Nov 27, 2024
There are no words to describe Matera. Even pictures are too small and contained. Video is not bad, but it’s still hard to capture. The old city is deep in what looks like a limestone quarry stretching over miles, with carved stone homes and businesses connected...
Nov 20, 2024
Ali, Shane and I rented a car in Salerno and went on a proper tootle across the ankle of Italy’s boot, stopping in three different places for a couple of nights each. Shane, as per custom, had done his research, and more’s the logic there: this part of the...
Nov 13, 2024
The Washington Post would have us not go to the Amalfi Coast, because the influencers have ruined it! They’re not entirely wrong, of course, because it is full to overflowing, and every once in a while as you’re walking you come upon some scene the...
Nov 7, 2024
My birthday dawned bright and sunny… no, wait, it rained like the dickens. Far be it from me to criticize the weather, though – if it happens on My Day, it’s obviously the best weather ever! We had big plans for the day, starting with The Volcano:...
