Italians make me comfortable.

When I leave America in November, I'll look at it as an escape. To a better place. To my new Paradise. In Sardinia. An island in the Mediterranean Sea. A bit off the beaten track. The home of my Italian true love. Yes, it's an escape. A better place. Might as well be truthful about it. I'd rather spend winter and early spring in Sardinia than in Minnesota. It's so much nicer. More pleasant. Especially being with my true love. I really won't miss America all that much. Oh, it'll be nice to return in April or May. Absence does tend to make the heart a bit fonder. But still, I'm thankful that I don't have to live in the USA year-round. Sometimes, it feels as if I'm getting too much of the American way. Especially if the conservative Republicans seize the reins of government. After all, I'm a political liberal. With tendencies toward socialism. Even communism. And in Sardinia we have socialists and communists. And conservatives, too. But not quite as wild-eyed as the American conservative lunatic fringe. Sardinia and Italy have a better balance, a better and more tolerant mix of political rivals. Italians are unlike Americans in many ways. Ways that I like. They are more sociable.  More tolerant. More leftist leaning. Italians make me more comfortable. That especially goes for  my beautiful and intelligent Italian true love. --Jim Broede