The Sunday Snewz Issue No. 23
July 30th, 2023: Ciao Bella
Ciao from Firenzè - yes, that’s both hello and goodbye. I appreciate the Italian way of keeping things simple like this. Who needs two words to say two different things, when you can just use one sexy word like ciao to cover it all?
I’m both greeting you from Italy and bidding farewell to The Sunday Snewz for the month of August. I’m on an extended holiday that started in Florence, where my daughter is attending a music school and I am taking the opportunity to finally finish writing my book. After several weeks of work dotted with spurts of pasta consumption, galleries galore and fine artisan and coutùre shopping for my daughter and I, my husband is joining us as we head to the Amalfi Coast, then onto Samos, Greece for a week away from all crowds, exploring the tiny fishing village and birthplace of Pythagoras. We will take a day trip across the eastern most one mile of the Aegean Sea to Turkey and then return through Athens and London before landing back in the good olè USA at the end of August.
The weekly commitment to researching current events and staying abreast of politics doesn’t fit into the vibe or the workload for the next month, so you’ll have to excuse my absence. I am also taking a month long reprieve from “the Gram” and instead will be sharing glimpses into my travels and the inner workings of my brain in the form of diary entries, short essays and possibly some video and audio recordings right here on Substack, so keep an eye out in your inbox or on the Substack App to join me on my travels!
We’re not fooling anybody.
I was in London for all but an hour before engaging in a political discussion. Our driver, Mohammad, an Afghan immigrant to the UK was entertaining Scarlett’s fascination with the British way of driving on what she referred to as “the wrong side of the road,” because anyone doing something different than we do in the U.S. is clearly doing something wrong, when I asked him where he was originally from. He explained he immigrated to the UK nearly ten years ago, and worked with the US government as an interpreter during our years of involvement in the war in Afghanistan. “We sure fucked that up, didn’t we?” I asked as more of an invitation than a question. He jumped at the opportunity to engage. “Your President fucked that up proper.” He went on to explain that yes, in fact the U.S. government exited in such a way to allow the Taliban to regain control within hours, leaving all of the U.S. provided weaponry in their hands. How the Taliban has now closed all beauty salons, nail salons and all other women focused businesses. Girls age five and older are no longer allowed to play in parks, are banned from schools, driving and generally being active participants in society. His parents and extended family remain in Afghanistan today and he is unable to visit due to the threats to his life for serving as an aid to the U.S. He has a green card which enables him to travel to the U.S. but he has very little interest after the treatment he received during his last visit. Upon arriving in New York City, he was held by immigration officials for fifteen hours and told his green card would be revoked if he did not cease posting about his experience with the U.S. in Afghanistan on social media. My daughter listened in as if she was watching a movie unfold before her very ears. Mohammad is a father of two boys, ages 9 and 11 and has a beautiful wife who is from London, which is how he was granted citizenship in the UK. He never expected censorship and threats such as he those inflicted upon him by the U.S. government and has stopped talking about the U.S. retreat from Afghanistan on social media because in his words, “he just wants to work hard, provide for his family and spend time with his kids.” His children will never know their grandparents and our country will continue to lie and betray foreigners in their own lands under the guise of spreading peace throughout the world. He explained to me that what we are doing in the Ukraine is no different than what we did for far too many years in Afghanistan. Just as the Brits drive on the so-called “wrong side of the road,” America continues to be on the wrong side of foreign wars and we are killing countless unknown faces and tearing apart countless families while pretending we are the good guys. All the while fighting amongst one another based upon party affiliation, with total disregard to the real human beings like Muhammad and his family who are paying the price.
“Your President, he falls to sleep while meeting with foreign dignitaries and falls down the stairs all the time.” Yes, Mohammad, he does and he also doesn’t give two shits about you or your family or anyone else for that matter.
A Coke and A Smile.
12% of Italians are obese, as compared to 42% of American adults. Another 31% of Americans are overweight - leaving two-thirds of our country overweight or obese. This isn’t a bash on America, it’s simply pointing out we’re not really America the beautiful. Nor are we healthy. It doesn’t take much to figure out why…
Our health regulatory bodies have been captured by Big Pharma.
Our food industry is in the business of making money, not making food.
We are glutinous.
Take-out in Italy. Fresh baked panini with handmade mozzarella, basil and ham. With a 5oz. Coke made with real sugar.
Take this can of Coke I had with dinner for instance. Yes, I had a Coke with dinner because I don’t drink wine anymore. Did I think visiting Italy and not drinking wine was possible? Nope - but I surprise myself more and more everyday. This cute little can of Coke is a whopping 150ml - equivalent to 5.072 ounces. If you gave this can to an American, they would use it in one swig to wash down the last bite of their Quarter Pounder. Actually, I’m not entirely sure you could even find a soda this small in the U.S. It also contains real sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup because the Italian government doesn’t subsidize corn crops the way in which the U.S. government pays farmers to grow crops in excess to then stuff away in the form of hidden sugars that make Americans addicted to packaged foods. It is a perfect representation of the factors that lead to obesity - excess consumption and corrupt industries. And in the U.S. Big Pharma comes to the rescue by advertising directly to consumers on television, a practice that is forbidden in nearly every other country in the world. Reassuring consumers that feeling like shit is all part of being alive and the only cure is to take a pill.
Our gluttony stems from excess production and excess consumption.
Proof of God
I went to mass at The Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiorè this morning. I chose the 10:30am mass because it is in Latin and includes the Gregorian chant. When the organ pipes began to play and I peered up into the miraculous duomo and the works of Vesari, I asked myself this, “what greater proof of God could one request?” But as I left the cathedral at the end of service, I recognized one greater proof - my desire to be a better human.
Do we need any other proof of God than that?
I’ll see you back here in The Sunday Snewz in September. I hope to see you before then as I share my travels over the next month. Don’t forget to subscribe and come along with me!
You’re in one of my favorite cities Florence. Enjoy your travels