An in depth blog about a man out of his depth

I recently got to witness a centuries old tradition of the confraternity in Sorrento. A massive procession through the streets, with all the smells and bells. I wish I could say that I had some religious experience,  or that i heard the voice of some obscure saint bringing me a message from God. But, I didn't. The procession ended as abruptly as it had begun. It was undeniably beautiful, a expression of faith rarely seen elsewhere in the world. A bit of culture denied to American Catholics, though we substitute with our own traditions. But the most striking thing to me was what followed. Very few people entered the Cathedral after the procession had ended, the mass that followed was like any other I had been to. With the exception that it was in Italian.  This sense of commonality has been pervasive through my short time here. On nearly every street there is some beautiful church or basilica, every corner has a image or statue of some holy and venerable person. And yet, I have...

      Wow! Transcontinental flights are long and incredibly uncomfortable! I'm quite accustomed to long haul drives numbering north of 12-14 hour long stretches. But the lack of any adequate gas stations 36,000 feet in the air makes a flight of the same duration 20x worse. By the time I arrived in Italy I hadn't slept for 24 hours and by the time I had reached my accommodations I had been awake for over 28 hours, and hadn't eaten for the last 15 hours or so. It would be a gross understatement to say i felt like the icy touch of death was caressing my neck.      So in as few words as possible, I was in a terrible mood. Which then lead to me being very angry at everything Id seen since landing in Napoli. The streets were full of moped drivers who seemed to not realize that they are in fact flesh and blood and very squishy compared to asphalt. The best way to put it is that in Texas the chaos forms out of order, everybody pushes the limits of what's legal to m...