At one time Rome dominated the world, now it has trouble looking after itself.

When I saw the news about the bridge collapse in Italy,

the first thing that came to my mind was cruise ships. That sounds odd and I’ll explain. Most ships are built in Germany and Italy. They are built in sections and welded together. As you walk down the passageway you can see where the sections come together. If the passageway is level and smooth, it was built in Germany. If you come along the passageway and you have to take a step up where they meet, then that ship was built in Italy. The collapse of the bridge does not surprise me.

Dual Citizenship

     While I was in the R.C.A.F, I was for a short time stationed in Sardinia, an island off Italy. It was an air force base for Italians, Germans and Canadians. One evening, a few of us went to a club on the Italian side. While sitting there, a guy came up and told us a memorable story. He was actually a Canadian, who went to Italy to visit his Grandparents. While there, the government grabbed him and shoved him into the Air Force. The surprise and price of dual citizenship.

Italian Craftsmanship

While walking along a passageway on the Caribbean Conquest, at center I noticed a bump in the floor bearing a sign, "Watch Your Step." A year ago, on the Norwegian  Spirit, there was no such bump. I asked my son about this. "Oh," he said, " this ship was built in Italy. The ship last year was built in Germany." It seems they build Caribbean ships in a naval shipyard as two pieces, then welded together. Italian craftsmanship - maybe they should stick to purses and shoes.