Why didn’t the Romans quickly destroy the new religion? — Popular imagination, reinforced by Hollywood and devotional literature, suggests that from the birth of the Christian movement to its final acceptance in the early-fourth century, Romans relentlessly hounded and persecuted the followers of Jesus. …

When the days grow warmer, the river begins to flow — April was unseasonably cold this year in Spokane, WA. Despite the calendar’s insistence that spring had arrived, frigid temperatures maintained an icy grip on our city. The thermometer tested readings below freezing overnight; snow dusted morning walks. Finally, however, the cold winds from north of the Canadian border eased, and…

A quiet walk through an empty town leads to an off-course stroll through a quarry — I must be getting my mojo back, my legs beneath me, or any other recuperative metaphor you might choose to employ. This morning at 6:00, I went out for a stroll to take some photos of Bassano del Grappa. …

In which we become amateur archaeologists and explore ancient medieval fortifications. — It was a quiet evening in Cismon del Grappa. After our afternoon hike, we expected that our day’s adventures were at a close, and the only thing that lay before us was a restorative night of sleep. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. “Were you expecting someone?” I asked Mary. I opened…

Mad bicyclists on a narrow path through the mountains — We spent the night at a friendly, albeit quirky, hotel in Primolano. The town offered few diversions. We walked across the road before dinner and took a tour of the train station. It was a small, but cheerful station. …

Slumming in the Bici Bars Today we continue our stroll down Valsugana (the Sugana Valley) to Primolano. This will be a longer stage (25 KM), but somewhat shorter than the guidebook stage which carries on to Cismon del Grappa (32 KM). Remarkably, when we step outside in Borgo Valsugana, the…

From the Dept. of Truancy Files — Attracting both national newspaper coverage and local opprobrium, Racine, Wisconsin, high school student Henry Ellefson set a national high-water mark for “phony excuses.” Ellefson loathed school. Sitting in a hot class room was stultifying and the boy embraced every excuse to be somewhere other than the halls of academia. With…

Life is a walk beside a ditch, following the Brenta downhill to the sea — We woke this morning to an unusual, and virtually unprecedented sight: sunlight was streaming in through our windows. Che strano, as we say here in Italy. We had a wonderful breakfast, during which I was able to practice my fractured and fractious Italian. Once our landlady realized that I had…

Billy’s Restaurant, Aberdeen, WA Returning to Grays Harbor, Washington always makes me happy. I spent eight blissful years living beside the green sloughs and muddy salt marshes. I soaked up the eighty-plus inches of annual rainfall, and felt the cool Pacific wind on my face. It feels like home. It…