[Ed. Note: I'm not sure this e-mail really counts as a political essay, but it was too weird not to print.]
A blast from the past! Good to hear from you again, Jonathan. I haven't been sending stories largely because I haven't been writing them. Since we last talked things took a rather bizarre turn, and I have been struggling ever since to transform the whole thing into fiction. In a nutshell, assuming you haven't heard about this melodrama, my girlfriend, a native of Ischia, learned she was adopted, and that her biological parents are Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni. The story went all over Europe and the US, but La Prima Donna has refused to either confirm or deny the maternity allegation. Here are a few sites that outline the whole sorry mess.
International Press Coverage of the Maria/Sophia Loren Connection
Transcripts of Press Coverage of Sophia Loren Connection
Circumstantial Case Supporting Maternity Allegation
Anyway, on election day I plan to stay right here where I am, with my parabola aimed at the sattelite that will bring me the results. Something tells me that I'll be doing a lot of cursing, and then weeping. I went to Rome two weeks ago to see a private screening of Fahrenheit 9/11 sponsored by an "American Democrats in Europe" organization. I'm among those who have an extremely strong dislike of Bush and virtually everything he does. I'm a former New Yorker, and seeing him running through the ruins of the WTC after hiding out on his private jet turned my stomach. Even trying to put this down in words turns my stomach, because I fear that despite all his lies he's going to win re-election. I just can not understand why fully half of American voters love him so much. I'll never understand it, I guess.
Good luck on your project, it sounds like a good one!
John Palcewski has enjoyed an eclectic career as a photojournalist, music critic, corporate magazine editor, literary fiction writer, poet, and fine arts photographer. His most recent work can be seen in Pierian Springs, Archipelago, Magaera, Adirondack Review, Aileron, Electric Acorn, Samsara, and Tryst3. An expatriate American, he lives in a vineyard's villa on Isola d' Ischia, a volcanic island in the bay of Naples, Italy.