Jazz

 This trip was utterly exhausting - and my legs are not at all happy with me - but it was well worth the effort. My last stop was to drop by Cincinnati to see my old friend Dave, which was, as expected, wonderful. Whenever I see people, both on trips like this but also as I pass through my daily life, I become more and more aware that I will never see some of them ever again. This made this trip more than a bit bittersweet. If the Italian government and court system plays nice and we actually make it to Sicily, I just feel that I'm not going to come back much. I've been blessed to have so many extraordinarily smart, interesting and kind folks in my life, and the thought of never seeing them again breaks my heart.

Dave and his new puppy, Jazz. Obviously, the ghost of Dudley still haunted the place, because Jazz did his best to skeletonize my arm (which was, as with his predecessor Dudley, mainly my fault). Jazz is apparently 1% Polynesian Street Dog, so he wasn't taking any shit (although he's sweet as can be).