I pretend to see only wildflowers.

The fierce high winds ripped off most of the plastic roof on a shelter at a bus stop where I'm staying in the city of Carbonia in Sardinia. And the debris landed in a nearby meadow. I'm betting that the remains of the roof will stay there. If not forever -- well, then for 5 or 10 or 20 years. Italians don't believe in picking up litter. The meadow is full of yellow wildflowers. Beautiful flowers. But scattered all around are papers and boxes and beer bottles. Almost every imaginable form of litter. I try to block it all out. Pretending to see only the waves of wildflowers. But it's difficult. When I walk through the city, I find stone and brick and stucco walls. So Italian. They'd be a picturesque delight. Except for the graffiti. --Jim Broede