I am focused.

I keep lamenting about what I’m missing. Because I don’t speak Italian. Can’t help it. Of course, I could take a crash course and learn a much better semblance of the language. But still, it won’t be nearly enough to converse fluently. Like I can with English. My one consolation is that I try to make the best of my language shortcomings. By constantly asking questions of my talented Italian true love. But it ain’t quite the same as talking daily to a bevy of ordinary Italians. Albeit, nobody remains ordinary after one gets to know him/her. I want to see and grasp the extraordinary in ordinary people. I have found the extraordinary in my true love. For which I am eternally thankful. But I want more. From other Italians. I want to understand the Italian psyche. If there is such a thing. There must be. My goal is to find a handful of Italians conversant in English. Like my true love. If not for her, I wouldn’t be in Sardinia now. She’s the foremost Italian in the world truly worth knowing. And loving. Therefore, I have in my possession quality, if not quantity. No reason to lament over that. Yes, today I am focused far more on what I have rather than on what I don’t have. –Jim Broede