Postcards: Things I Think From 4,444 Miles Away

We conclude my first major vacation in about a decade - and return back to Maryland Thursday in an all-day travel affair. Let's look back on how things change and stay the same.

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Dear Fellow Expat:

This will be a difficult trip home… as I will again see America with new eyes, heading back at the start of peak insanity: the 2024 Election Season.

But here we are… winding down in Rome. I’m taking my daughter to see the ballet this evening and then putting a lid on it. Tomorrow, we’ll be back… to the Florida Republic state of mind… surrounded by the ongoing Banana Republic realities…

Some thoughts after this trip.

I Could Live in Milan (And Probably Will)

Of all the places I’ve traveled to, Milan felt like I already lived there.

It is gritty, busy, and a constant work in progress… a description of me. You could drop me in there at any time, and I’d feel at home and able to navigate. My Italian was serviceable, but everyone was more excited to speak to me in English.

The Milanese did find out that I was American - and had lots of questions about the 2024 election. I didn’t answer them. But the one man who lived in Denver in the 1990s b…