Ah, for the life of a gypsy.

I am fascinated by gypsies. Wouldn’t even mind traveling with them. To better understand how they live. But I rarely mix with the gypsies residing in and around Carbonia in Sardinia, where I’m living now. They more or less live in seclusion. In a gypsy camp. On the edge of town. I’m told by the natives that most of the gypsies come from Romania. That they come and go. Willy-nilly. That they live by their own rules. That they used to scattered around Carbonia. On empty lots. Anywhere they could find unoccupied space. Started to make some people uneasy. So the city established a gypsy camp. Invited gypsies to stay there.  And so that’s where they stay now. In trailers. And ramshackle shacks. Seems that the city has a policy of live and let live. If gypsies don’t cause too many problems, they’re pretty much left alone. There’s debris and garbage around the gypsy camp. Even off the premises. They toss out their garbage. Sometimes in plastic bags. Along the roadside. And the city comes in and picks it up. In an effort to keep the roadsides reasonably clean. Guess the city does this without charging the gypsies a fee. Just for the sake of a cleaner Carbonia. The gypsies have a reputation. For being untrustworthy. But I might trust a gypsy. Especially if I got to know one. And if he/she spoke English. So we could communicate effectively. I have lots of questions that I’d ask gypsies. Because I’m curious. I’ve been reading the Internet. In an attempt to learn more about gypsies. Italy seems to be an alluring place for gypsies. The Italian authorities estimate that 150,000 gypsies live in Italy. Maybe because they are more tolerated in Italy than in other European countries. I wonder if that speaks well for Italians. I suspect it does. –Jim Broede