While much of Italy - and most of the rest of Europe - is under a blanket of snow and sub-zero temperatures, we are hunkered down in our room at Aviano Air Base, watching crime show reruns and Super Bowl hype on the Armed Forces Network. It's cold outside but Aviano is one of the few areas that hasn't gotten snow. Bologna and Milan are digging out and we heard it may even snow in Rome. And for the record, back home in Colorado, Denver is having its biggest February snowfall in a century!
We are here for follow-up medical and dental visits but are also taking advantage of some things American, too. A library with all the magazine back issues we have missed. A grocery store that actually has peanut butter, not Nutella. Cheap haircuts and Taco Bell. Girl Scouts selling cookies. (I could feel the weight of the monkey on my back - or was it the Cookie Monster? - but resisted the temptation.
The dental appointments were disappointments. Almost. The Italian dentist wasn't there; he was in court, not the most confidence inspiring news. But Connie got a walk-in appointment with a fantastic dentist next to the gelato shop who patched up her broken molar as good as new.
And we were able to take Creighton to dinner, even if it was only pizza, as a thank you for letting us ship Connie's new binoculars to his APO address. He is the son of an Air Force buddy of Connie's, very mature for his age and totally dedicated to the Air Force. He showed us his off-base accommodations, a 16th Century mill restored to 21st Century standards. It's a far cry from where I live when I was stationed in Europe 40-some years ago.
