Picture-Perfect Vogue Cover

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Firenze, Italy

Lorena was this gorgeous Latina starlet from Chile. Jennifer Lopez she wasn’t but Rita Moreno, she came close to but wait, Rita Moreno is not blonde, neither is Jennifer and both ladies are Puerto Ricans. Ok, moving on. She was this picturesque, very tall – the perfect poster girl for a Vogue cover, body perfect, blonde, blue eyes, Barbie like elegant sassy starlet and any dreamer date heaven. Bruno, on the other hand, was an Italian stud muffin, black hair, brown eyes who reminded her of Paul Newman. Yes, Paul Newman but wait, he was blonde with blue eyes… never mind, carry on. In essence she was trying to tell us that in her eyes, he was a hunk and… 

That’s where the story ends. Lorena she wasn’t, Italian she is, model she wasn’t but could be, her name I don’t recall. I met her at a leather store in Florence, Italy where she worked and I was trying to buy a handbag. Her smile made all possible! 

The Tenants

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Assisi, Italy

The tenants wearing atypical uniform were suspicious, fixated on their core of allegiances while diligently sifting  through with uncluttered eyes. The perfect warrior sheltered its territory like a vulture but in the middle of the afternoon, night quickly gave way to day. Dark skies mystically, opened delivering a gaudy tale that the moviegoer on its way to the hottest movie in town, backtracked and grinned at the elevator door.

Parched Leaves

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When the car breaks down, the world caves in from every direction and you are left at the roadside waiting for the train to go by. You want to scream, fly, run but you fail miserably at the breaks. Not strong enough, they say. So, you keep pushing, waiting for the veil to drop.

You look over and the world is sitting still. The drum is still beating. The circle in your eyes, still puffy. The moon and the stars in formation, winking at you. 

You hear the music but Beethoven it isn’t, so you try to switch to another channel but the symphonic notes still playing the same old tunes. You yell at whoever. You are heard, so you think, responses coming in small packages and yet, you are left wondering about a parachute. You try to spin, flip the page, blow it harder but the recipe is written in stone, No Carbon Copies Allowed. Perhaps, the new pastry chef will add a new dish to the menu but it is not about the cookie dough but the wind, blowing.

Death it isn’t, hell it is but the moutain, although steep, still up for the challange; we are climbing it. Looking straight at the screen below, the music man reads the story on today’s newspaper, outloud. It is dark and storming out the weatherman says but sunshine and bright skies tomorrow.