No matter where you go, there you are

I didn’t write Itch last week—first time since I started on August 10th. I blame it on Easter, Donella’s birthday preparations, friends in town, and a delay in an interview or two, but there was probably something more.

I think I needed a reflective pause to listen to a kind of thirst, rawness, desire that I can’t quite name—usually a sign for me of the necessity to change. Without wanting to meet its eyes too directly I think it’s trying to signal that not all is solved by a change in culture and location. (Perfectly expressed in the quote in the headline by the great philosopher, Buckaroo Bonzai, in 1984.) The instinct to move to rural Italy was right, but didn’t entirely quiet the dark breezes in my soul of fear, unspecified non-enoughness, and scarcity.

So, inward I go. And deeper into Italy as a powerful catalyst to grow. And wanting to use Itch, and all of you, to keep me honest.

What I’d love to know from you—what is touching you about Itch? What stories are the most memorable, and which ones reached your heart? What’s not working for you—topics, length, etc?? I’d love to hear, if you have a moment to drop me a note.

And now, onward and forward. We have some really fun things planned, including a field trip to Beirut in May, hopefully a trip to John’s ancestral village in Calabria to cook with a grandmother, and loads more.