Any sweat young ladies out there who would like accompany me as I revisit
these sites, please feel free to email me at
nflb@writeme.com Or maybe you would
like to share a few winter weeks with me at my house
on the Gulf of Mexico.
Missing from this section are my photos of Florence, Rome, Pompeii, and Pisa.
My jealous Father tore those photos up and threw them in the garbage. He felt
he should get all the inheritance even though he is publically considered a
little too eccentric.
Gondola Tour
Like a virgin (really) everyone should tour Venice in a gondola. Career
gondoliers take pride in serenading their patrons as they slowly propel their
gondola around Venice's fluid streets. What would make this moment fulfilling
is someone fitting to share it with.
Canal and Bridge
This city on poles is so condense that even the waterways and bridges are
tight. To live so close the Venicians have evolved as understanding of other
people's needs and are very accommodating. Being a Newfoundlander I have a
natural love for anything related to the sea. Slowly bobbing along in salt
water was a real pleasure amidst the ancient city of Venice.
Venician Road
It was down this road that Poppy Joe shot off in search of a telephone when
he left me as a decoy at the plaza. Poppy Joe later took me to a Communist's
private shop to await a return phone call from Switzerland. Poppy Joe asked
how millionaires behave locally. The Communist shop owner could not answer
since a millionaire was not like you or I, and he never dealt with them. How
fake, a Communist merchant and my Socialist Grandfather pretending to be poor
while on his way to his Swiss Bank account to check on his millions. I
pointed out that a million Lire was a poor workers wages, so he was a
"millionaire". After the appointed time past, and discussing time zone
correction between Geneva and Venice, Poppy Joe stepped in back to telephone
his bank again.
Main Plaza
Behind me is the Roman Catholic church built with booty won in the crusades.
The local merchants invested in the crusades in return prize taken from the
Holy Land. Much appreciation for gods blessing them with a victory was paid
to this church. I, being protestant, was not allowed inside, as it is not a
tourist site, but is steadily used for religious purposes. On my left is the
palace of Venice's past Prince. I toured it and was intrigued when shown a
hidden room. The Prince's wife had shared it with the Prince. But the Prince
also used it to make love to his mistresses in. If his wife came in the main
chamber, he whisked his mistress through another hidden door, behind a full
sized painting, which his wife never knew about. In the main chamber we were
shown a wall of panels and told that for hundreds of years nobody knew of a
hidden panel there until recently found. I looked at the panels, saw one off
colour from the others, and reached towards it. The tour guide jumped to stop
me, as I had picked correctly.
In the photo above I am looking out across open water to the massive hotel
across the way. The steps before me are where James Bond drove his automated
gondolier onto this plaza. To my right, as shown in the background of the
photo below, is a series of restaurants mainly open at night. Many people sit
in those yellow chairs to eat outside from the heat. I had some great very
sweat ice cream there which had been fried in flaming oil!
What Doves Sound Like
You see I am really a tender loving fellow. Doves come and eat out of my hand.
In the Newfoundland woods, at a boil up, I enjoy feeding grey jays bread I
hold in my lips. These are some simple pleasures I cherish. Alas, my education
and then business concerns have monopolized my time from personal relations.
I am not crazed for money, but a business must do well and prosper for the
employees and new employees to live their lives. My sence of duty to
Newfoundland and to the poor who want to work is very strong, but I must
leave a legacy to run these enterprises if their benefits are to continue.
Try This
Firm, Red, Sweet and Juicy. Who could deny themselves fresh ambrosia from a
Venician vender? A Dollar bought 1,500 Lire, so this cost only five cents at
one of the worlds best tourist attractions. Why be extravagant when the best
joys are available to most everyone?
Joey Photoed
I know the skeptician is asking "Where is Joey in these photos?" He was
holding the camera! But en route from Rome to Pisa we stopped at a restaurant
and a woman took our photo and sold it to me. When Poppy Joe saw the photo
being taken he tried to get the clerk to order that the film be destroyed! By
the time he demanded the film be developed in front of him, the woman had
left to get it developed. When she returned to sell it to me, he wanted the
negatives, but the photos may have been instimatic. By Italy he had progressed
to drinking anacete (an extremely powerful alcohol made from seeds). The photo
was developed as part of a big pack of matches. The old fellow in the
background is the South African, born in the Netherlands, whose real purpose
was to get to his Swiss bank. Surprise, so were half of the other tourists,
including ourselves!
