Not so certain about my nose.

Makes me wonder why. Italians not only put up with unsightly litter. But the stench, too. The litter includes carcasses of dead animals. I've walked by a dead cat on the sidewalk for almost a month now. Of course, I know it's dead. Without even looking. I can smell it. And so can the customers at a nearby grocery. As they saunter in to buy food. The stench isn't appetizing. But Italians put up with it. Knowing that sooner or later, stenches go away. On their own, I guess. Not with any help from clean-up crews. Anyway, with all the debris and litter and dead animals strewn about, little wonder that Italy has a well-earned reputatiion for being a dirty country. But beautiful, too, I admit. Too bad Italy doesn't have everything. Such as cleanliness. So many Italians seem indifferent to it all. Like what I wrote about the other day. A woman found dead in her apartment. After 6 months. One would think the neighbors would have sniffed something awry and foul. And done something about their missing neighbor. Such as call in the police to investigate. If nothing else, to investigate the smell. But then, the smell of a rotting body may mix with the smell of rotting garbage. On the streets. In such places as Naples. Where garbage collectors were out on strike. For a long time. But don't get me wrong. I love Italy. Dearly. The good far ouweighs the bad. My heart is in Italy. But I'm not so certain about my nose. --Jim Broede