An oil painting of a lit candle.

Sight Unseen

A blind expat's musings on life, death and the Trump era

April 25, 2026 | Rome, Italy
Detail from "The Facts of Life" by Norman Rockwell.

Alda

How one glass of milk can teach a 50-year lesson about doing what you dislike.

His coach, Tomasso Maestrelli, would be diagnosed with cancer a year later.

Long John

Some players are larger-than-life, and the Rome version of Giorgio Chinaglia qualified.

The Tea Party is now a virus.

Marvelous

Obama vs. Romney would be a battle of elitists, with no sure thing for either.

World War II was the deadliest military conflict in history, with 60 million dead.

WWII

Abbreviations can drain the blood from events that deserve spelling out.

St. Peter's Square, colonnade center marker.

Da noi

Back in the Eternal City after months in the hills elicits small revelations.