Getting Ready

This blog will chronicle our bicycle trip to puglia in May 2009. This is our second trip there. Karen and I went in 2007 and it was magical. This time we are returning with our four adult sons. I was moved by the 2007 trip because my grandparents are from Puglia. I felt that I was seeing the world through their eyes. I want my sons to have a visceral sense of who they are and where they came from. It is important that they not only see but smell, taste, and hear their ancestry.

Besides their presence on the trip, other events make it especially meaningful. My father died on December 9, 2008. He was my hero: an intelligent man who could not speak fluent English until he was almost ten and who never finished high school, he inspired all of his children to become the best people we could be. He was loyal (sometimes to a fault) generous and kind. I miss him every day.

On January 9, 2009, I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer. I knew that it was common and that treatments were effective but .... it's still cancer. Nearly 30ooo men die every year and I am only 56. I had surgery on March 11 and, because of the skill of Dr. Keith Mooney, I am fully recovered.

S0 - the finality of death (as trite as that sounds) makes me understand the blessings of my life (as trite as that sounds) But let's not make the sophisticated the enemy of the true. I am happy to be alive, aware of life's fragility, and grateful for my wife and children. This trip is a way for me to connect to my past and my future. Buon Viaggio.