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There is an expression in the Roman language, genius loci, “the spirit of a place.” It has acquired a modern, figurative sense in the realm of landscape and architecture—a characteristic atmosphere. But its meaning is rooted in a literal, supernatural sense—the guardian spirit that protects a place.
I try to describe Rome to you without resorting to the clichés and hyperbole that pour from the reservoir of what I have read and heard and seen on television:
majesty • power • glory • history • grandeur • richness • pageantry • eternal • holy • baroque • …more
Dear Dad,
I have about 30 minutes left to tell you everything I need to say, and there’s no way it’s enough. God, I don’t even know where to start, so I’ll just dive in with a couple of minutes of background information, how I got to be typing this letter right now, and then I’d better get straight to the message I’m supposed to deliver. That’s the important part, but it also seems pretty important (to me, anyway), that you have some reason to believe that I haven’t gone completely out of my mind and run off to Belize like I always talked about doing.
 This symbol means negation. This isn’t part of the message per se, but they say it’s important for you to know this if you’re going to understand all the rest.
No time for the whole story, so here it is in a nutshell: I was sitting on the picnic table on the patio, and I heard a noise down in the woods, a kind of crackling sound. …more
I’ve always enjoyed learning foreign languages. Between sixth grade and graduation from college, I studied a total of 12 academic years of various languages—Spanish, French, Italian, German, Latin, and Ancient (Attic) Greek. During my high-school and college travels abroad, I eagerly absorbed a few words of several others. I can count to five in Rumanian, say “thank you” and “goodbye” in Polish, and ask “What is your telephone number?” in Dutch. A high-school friend taught me how to say “Would you like to take a shower with me?” in German, but I’ve never had occasion to use it.
…more
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