As enthused as I am about Green, I must confess that I have, since my last article, experienced a certain loss of confidence. Will plowing through the details of Green Design and its merits in 700 word chunks make for interesting and engaging reading and serve as catalyst for your conversion to the Green Way? I don't know whether it is just the difficulty of relating all that one knows about a technical subject in a way that makes it meaningful to the uninitiated, or whether I simply lack the skills required to do so. Serious self doubt is occurring. In an effort to overcome, I have engaged in contemplative introspection, extended walks and bike rides, meditation, super-hot baths, and eating only vegetables. I am certain that a few glasses of wine would do wonders, but I have given alcohol up for Lent. I am in crises - what am I to do? In circumstances like these there is really only one sensible remedy - Road Trip!

By the time you read this, Patty and I will be in Bella Italia (Beautiful Italy) and nearly 2 weeks into our trip. Since I am writing this before our departure, I can only speak to you of our plans and expectations. Patty and I have traveled to Italy many times yet this trip promises to be unique from the standpoint that it is the first trip since we realized our commitment to sustainability. For the first time we will see Italy through a Green lens. We are both excited about our new perspective, and expect to spend a portion of each day looking into all aspects of the Green Italian life. We expect to return with some useful knowledge because the Italians, as well as the rest of the Europeans, have been forced to accept sustainability as a fact of life for many decades due to cultural and physical necessity.

The first part of our trip will take us to a small resort town in the region of Toscana (Tuscany) called Montecatini Terme, 70 miles North of Firenze (Florence). Montecatini lies at the foot of the Pistonian mountains and boasts baths and spas that date back to the fourteenth century that have been visited by such notables as Verdi, Princess Grace, Orson Welles, Clark Gable, Douglas Fairbanks and assorted European royalty. We will be sharing a villa with four other couples who were selected because they are experienced travelers and accomplished cooks. In between our taking of the waters, cooking, walking in the countryside, and dining lavishly, we will poke around to see how this community handles trash and recycling. We will also make forays to the nearby towns of Luca (where I have family) and Siena where Patty, on an earlier trip, suffered what she called an Italian Overdose (yet another story).

Patty and I and another couple will then travel by rented car (keeping meticulous mileage records) to my home town of Ancona in the region of le Marche. Ancona is an industrial town of 100,000 or so on the Adriatic coast, and lies at the foot of an extinct volcano called Monte Conero. Although quite picturesque, Ancona is a manufacturing town that produces many things and is best known for its yacht building and modular kitchen fabrication. We expect that my extended family will not only prepare extravagant meals for our enjoyable consumption, but will also assist us in communicating our interest in all things Green with the municipal authorities, especially those involved with assuring air and water quality.

The final leg of our adventure will see us traveling by train to Roma, where we will join in the Holy Week celebrations. On the way, we will apply our Green lens perspective to the Italian mass transit system to gain from our first-hand experience. How efficient, how practical, how economical, how comfortable is it. During our stay in Roma, Patty and I have made plans to renew our marriage vows as a celebration of our 5th anniversary. We will do so in St. Peters. We will also look for the "Green Machine" (see previous article), for the Vatican trash control is a marvel to behold. Finally - Easter in the Eternal City - Rebirth!

Thus renewed and newly informed I will return home to complete the planning of the exciting "Glimpse the Future" Earth Day 2007 event (please refer to the ad below). Although it is not clear to me, from my current vantage point, how it will come about, I trust that my renewed positive energy will attract the necessary resources for me to effectively carry on with Green Broad Ripple.