Readers of this Blog are likely to have the impression I have a fixation on the subject of ‘Retirement.’ Since that is the stage of life I am in, I guess I am simply trying to gain some perspective on what has been going on in our lives. High on that list has been adjusting to becoming Expatriates in Italy. Getting acclimated to Italy still is, and will probably continue to be, an ongoing process. A short time ago, we passed the one-year anniversary of our arrival in Italy as ‘Elective Resident’ immigrants. On arrival, we began the process of becoming familiar with Ascoli Piceno. Our assessment stated elsewhere in this Blog remains the same – we are delighted with the choice of Ascoli to be our new home and so very grateful to our Ascolani friends for being so generously welcoming. Over this past year, some gradual changes have been taking place in how we are responding to this new environment. Not very long ago, as I was making my way along the cobblestones of Ascoli Piceno when I realized I was doing it in something of a leisurely saunter. I was not doing my usual ‘power walk’ to get to a destination without ‘wasting time.’ Having spent so many years in the highly intensive corporate world, appearing to be very seriously engaged was essential for survival. To compound matters, I grew up in New York City commuting to High School on the subway during rush hour. In that environment, if you weren’t in a hurry, you had better get out of the way. In something over a year, I feel I have gone through some level of metamorphosis. The initial stage was breaking through a conceptual barrier to entertain the idea of becoming Expatriates. Then came the challenge of seeing it through. It became revealing to discover how indoctrinated we had become to the idea that material possessions were a significant determinant in defining who we were. ‘Would we still be us without all this stuff?’ I’m happy to report that we are still ‘us,’ on the far side of the excess material divide. In fact, we feel like a much less burdened ‘us’ without dragging all...