I haven’t left the boundaries of Michigan for more than five days in over fifteen years and I have no plans to do so. Writing about my trip to Europe is really reliving my glory days when I was more spontaneous, adventurous, and brave. Rome was the most glorious of all places I’ve been because that is what a person should say about the city that was the center of the Roman Republic and Empire. I’m not here to discuss political and military histories, I’m more concerned with words and how I can string them along to unwind after a long day of servitude within a democracy that is obligated to consumerism.
Rome had me so intrigued that I splurged what little money I had on museums. I got more out of the experience by bending rules, like sitting on a crumbled wall inside the Coliseum and also whipping out my tiny 007 camera within the Sistine Chapel. I was so used to taking photos of the outdoors and outside of buildings that I wasn’t prepared for guards telling me I couldn’t do what I want inside of ancient structures and with priceless art. Wouldn’t it be strange if we couldn’t take pictures of El Capitan or the Lincoln Memorial? It is strange that I’m over here thinking of Ozzy peeing on the Alamo. In his defense the Alamo is not as world renowned as Roman art and architecture. In my defense I have never peed on the Alamo.
Rome is where the gypsy kids got me, shaking a newspaper in my face and that was all. I didn’t feel a thing, they got away with equivalent to $40. Wouldn’t it be great if all robberies were done this way, if no guns were involved ever. What if we dropped newspapers on other countries instead of bombs. Do you think the headlines would still read injustice, violence, and terror or would they be more promotional and educational?
I am not the first person to have written sentences like these though I’m hoping I don’t sound too redundant in my approach. This is an exercise in unrefined representation of recovery. Meaning I am wanting to hone my writing skills as I go through early recovery, while I am raw in both time and passion, so I know where I am in comparison to where I was. What better way than to start by writing about where I was before any major issues befell me. I’m wondering how much of my story I’ll be willing to share, the closer I get to home the more madness is involved. I have one request of the reader and that is keep coming back.
Francis Erich McElroy 