Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose.* -Alphonse Karr, 1800’s
*The More things change, the more they remain the same.” – not true anymore.
So. Where were we? Oh, yes. I am reporting from a small town in Tuscany. My wife and I first came here in the mid-nineties. Stayed for 6 years. We had two English Bulldogs with us: Belle & Lucy. We’d take them down to our local Caffe every morning for our coffee. Everybody in our little town marveled at the sight of the dogs. “Do you let them in the house?” many would ask. “Do they really sleep inside?’ Dogs, you see, in those days were for protecting the house. Back then, if you had a dog it would be chained to a stake and was supposed to bark at people passing by. But Belle & Lucy were treated kindly and were known to enjoy snacks of any kind, if offered – which was often. Why do I mention this? Because today almost everyone here has a dog. There must be a hundred of them in the Piazza everyday. Big ones, small ones, full breeds, mutts. The dog pictured above is “Pigot” (Pronounced “Pea-go”) He is a town favorite – even though he does not seem to like other dogs. The locals don’t know about dog regulations yet. Dogs are allowed in the Caffes, restaurants, and stores – where more often than not they are given treats for simply just being there. Frequently they are not on leashes. This is a good place to live, if you are a dog – or otherwise. If, as I assume, I am responsible for introducing dogs to this town – then I think we Americans (my being known as an American) can be given credit for bringing something nice to the area – other than the discomfort everybody in town seems to be feeling from the disturbing madness coming out of Washington these days.
I’ll end it here and give you a chance to spend a little extra time with Pigot.
