Abacus Travel

“The first time I came to Italy, in Naples, I was struck by the cribs of 1700. They opened new horizons to me. I was used to the one of the Metropolitan Museum of New York, small and simple at the base of an imposing Christmas Tree.

The cribs of Naples were a real discovery to me!” Together with the crib Yvonne DiPalma – born in Philadelphia – met also the sculptor Michele Attanasio. She fell in love with him, got married and with him opened the “Paul Whistler Art Gallery”, near Sorrento.

For Christmas, in a place where everybody prepares a crib, they started to make one in the Gallery: scenarios by Michele and characters by Yvonne.

This is how it has begun, by chance, the most charming and passionate adventure of the life of this artist. In the first “Installation” there are 20 characters: sculptures representing the people of the town and famous figures.

This was the start of a thirty-year experience. Every year after that debut in 1976-77 it has had more and more success; it was an opening up of a new life.

The crib emigrated to Florence where it found in Monsignor Setti a supporter and in the Basilica of San Lorenzo a home. In the town of iris the two artists found the same enthusiasm of the first time: that miracle of a sincere participation.

After San Lorenzo, it went to Loggia Rucellai (1981), then to Rome, in the Oratory of Santa Maria in Via, then back to Florence, in the church next to the Gallery of San Jacopo Sopr’Arno (1991). In 1992 the crib by Yvonne was the set in the Theatre Parioli of the programme Maurizio Costanzo Show.

The term “recreational vehicle” or RV usually calls to mind a motorhome, perhaps a Winnebago brand specifically. It’s a large vehicle in which the living space and the driver’s seat are all part of the same structure, rather than having the “car” part towing the “living” part.

But recreational vehicles come in many other shapes and sizes, too, and are still properly called RVs. Which one you buy depends on your needs.

The motorhome (commonly called a Winnebago even when it’s actually a different brand) is convenient because it offers reasonable living quarters, including a place to sleep, prepare food and use the bathroom. The driver is not disconnected from his passengers; they’re in the “back seat,” as the living quarters are right behind him. Many people, especially retirees, live in motorhomes full-time, touring the country and enjoying their mobile lifestyle. RV parks have sprouted up all over the country, offering traveling recreational vehicle enthusiasts a place to stop and rest, hook up to electrical posts, and even use the Internet.

Other recreational vehicles are better suited to temporary arrangements, not full-time living. The most basic kind of RV is a simple truck camper, where a shell is attached to the bed of a pickup truck. This is usually for day or weekend trips, with supplies in the covered bed of the truck. The shell can serve the same purpose as a tent would (protection and warmth), making it useful for outdoor camping, too.

Any one who has ever gotten on a race bike and felt the acceleration knows that such temptation is just to great. Once you give it some throttle you want to take it thru the gears. Yet, if you do choose to take it thru all the gears and redline the sixth or last gear you find yourself often over 135 miles per hour even on a 600 CC race bike. On the 750’s and 1000 plus CC race bikes you are well over 160 miles per hour at redline. Those of us who dare know that you must really pay attention when you are going at such speeds while sitting out in the open, namely you need to hang on.

Why do we sell these motorcycles to teenagers if we know that there is no possible way and no current teenager alive who owns one who has not sped on it? It is safe to say that such a statement is correct. Perhaps we ought to have speed limits within reason; for instance if you have taken a super bike class and have shown you can handle the raw power and speed; then you should be allowed to open it up all the way when no one else is around to get hurt. Montana use to have such a law on their roads, unlimited speed limit as long as you were not endangering others, this seems to be a good rule. Germany has the autobahn, yet we are denied the pursuit of happiness because some lawmaker who has no balls is afraid we might get hurt and it might go into the newspaper and make a few weak voters sob? No one has the right to deny those capable and willing to push the envelope a little our pursuit of happiness as such rules are in complete contrary to what it means to live in a free country.

Can you name the number one spectator sport in North America?  It’s not baseball, figure skating or racing.  It’s bird watching.  That’s right, more people are watching birds than football and hockey combined.  With so many people hoping to see a bird they’ve never seen before, it’s not surprising to see a clamoring for the latest tips and tools to get the job done.  Here are my top five tips for getting the most out of your birding experience.

#1.  Get to Where the Birds Are!  This sounds obvious, but many birders spend the majority of their bird watching time and energy on poor locations.  Some folk have the advantage of looking out of their windows into the back yard to observe nature’s best.  The rest of us need to get moving.  I would highly recommend visiting a National Wildlife Refuge.  There are over 500 of them across the United States.  To find one near you, visit http://refuges.fws.gov/

#2.  Know What Species to Expect.  There are approximately 900 species of birds in the United States and recognizing each of them is nearly impossible.  So when you visit an area, do a little research first.  You may find that perhaps only a few species actually inhabit that particular area.  With a little preparation, you will be able to more readily identify bird species from each other.  Keep a list of successfully viewed species – we’ll call this tip number two and a half.