Cara Professoressa Patrizia: Mia Vacanza ѐ Meravigliosa!

Rome Diary IV:
Il Mio Ritorno a Roma!
Friday February 2, 2018
Mostly Cloudy 53°F/12°C in Roma, EUR, Italia
Fair 57°F/14°C in Cedar Park, Texas
Buona giornata amici miei!
     Di Mercoledi, (On Wednesday), my son took me for a personal, private tour of the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel and Basilica San Pietro right under the noses of the Swiss Guards.

My son, the Tour Guide

Michael is a licensed tour guide in Rome, but he is not sanctioned to guide tour groups through the Vatican Museum, the Sistine Chapel or St. Peter’s Basilica. After all, Vatican City is a separate, sovereign nation whose Prime Minister, Papa Francesco, is not elected by any earthly voters, but reports only to The Almighty!  And so, as we walked along through the Medieval wonder of it all, my son cautioned me, I’ve gotta keep my voice down, Pop! If one of the Vatican guards thinks I’m giving a guided tour, they can ask us to leave. My excitement level rose. I wasn’t just on another guided tour, I was on a clandestine operation deep inside the Vatican. Nervously scanning the crowds of other tourists, looking for secret agents of Opus Dei, we plunged onward.

January is the slack season of year for the tour industry in Rome, so we had ample time to contemplate the treasures on display at the Musei di Vaticani. When we arrived at La Capella Sistina, we easily found a seat on the benches that skirt the periphery of the large room and gazed up at the ceiling and Michelangelo’s magnificent fresco. Ever the art scholar, my son, described in great detail how Michelangelo had created this masterpiece along with the personal anecdotes and insights into this medieval artistic genius that made Michelangelo come to life for me.

     On the second day of February most Americans are thinking, Hooray! It’s Ground Hog Day! The day set aside to honor that furry, little critter Punxatawney Phil, and contemplating the prospect of

Perseus & His Groundhog!

six more weeks of Winter. But, not this Americano. I’m in Rome, Italy, thousands of miles away from the clack and clatter of domestic political turbulence back home in Texas and vicinity. I’m in the middle of a five week stay in Italy, but I’m already thinking about when I’ll be coming back.  Let me see… My high school class reunion is in October in New York… Maybe I could just leave from NYC and fly back to Italy.  Oh well! Let’s think about it. Now then, I’ll get around to some travel advice in a moment, but, I would like to digress for a moment to insert a short note to my Italian language teacher, Patrizia, back in Austin, Texas:

Cara Patrizia, vorrei riprendermi un momento dal scrivere il mio blog per raccontarvi la mia vacanza.

Sto soggiornando in un appartamento che ho affittato in EUR, in Viale dell'Oceano Atlantico vicino a Laurentina. Mio figlio Michael e sua moglie Laura vivono nelle vicinanze a Colle Parnaso. Io sarò qui per un mese. Ho mio traduttore di Google e praticare il mio vocabolario con DuoLingo ogni giorno.
      A presto.
      Arrivederci, MikeBo

(Dear Patrizia,

I would like to take a moment from writing my blog to tell you about my vacation.
      I am staying at an apartment I have rented in EUR, on Viale dell’Oceano Atlantico near Laurentina. My son Michael and his wife Laura live nearby in Colle Parnaso. I will be here for a month. I have my Google Translator and practice my vocabulary with DuoLingo every day.
See you soon.
Goodbye,
MikeBo)

      So there. I like to keep la mia insegnante-my teacher - up to date on my progress. Learning a new language is a challenge for me, but, I am beginning to feel comfortable in my new surroundings, in no small way, my thanks to Patrizia Papi at Austin Community College. Grazie mille, mia Professoressa!
      I’ve mentioned that the more frequently I travel to Rome that I have been feeling less and less like a typical American tourist but, as every visit concludes, I feel more and more like an expatriate. Not quite Mike Botula, International Man of Mystery, but no longer a Californian or even a Texan where I happen to live now. (Full Disclosure: Since I was born in New York City, I must state that people like me who are born in NYC, are New Yorkers, regardless of where they choose to live, until they die. And even then, their epitaph will usually read, Here lies a New Yorker!)
      One aspect of my transition from tourist to ex-pat is my effort to learn the language. Prior to my first trip to Rome in 2005, I signed up for a class at the Italian Cultural Center in Sacramento entitled: Buon Viaggio! Conversational Italian for Travelers, taught by Patrizia Cerruti. The trip itself became what I have since come to recognize as the typically overly ambitious, over-planned, over-tiring first time overseas journey by a typical American. I deluded myself into thinking that I could visit Rome and Pompeii; go on to Naples, visit Florence, Milan and take a gondola ride through Venice and do it with days to spare.

Cue the cold splash of reality!  We never left the city limits of Rome. In fact, I never past the confines of the Aurelian Wall except for a few trips up to Selci, in Sabina to Laura’s parents’ home in

I Due Mike Botulas

the mountains. So now with numerous vacations and extended stays in Italy under my belt, I would advise my friends: Sure! If you’re a first-time traveler, book yourself on a pre-planned tour and have someone make sure you get where you want to go. Then on your NEXT trip, start exploring! Work with your travel service and surf the internet. I’m a fan of Rick Steves’ travel shows on PBS. If you’re a PBS subscriber, you can stream Steves’ entire repertoire of travelogues, then select a destination that catches your eye.

I haven’t said much about Michael and No Funny Stuff! But, I will after I see the band play Saturday night at Mahalia here in Rome.  With the pace he’s going these days, a geezer like me has to make a real effort to keep up with him.

I’ll keep you posted along the way.
Ciao,
MikeBo

[Mike Botula is the author of LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! He is a retired broadcast journalist, government spokesperson and media consultant.   Mike’s book is available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books. You can follow his blog at: mikebotula.blogspot.com, or visit Mike Botula at www.mikebotula.com]

Off To See the Circus! (fuori per vedere il circo!)

Keeping Up With My Son!
Rome Diary IV:
Il Mio Ritorno a Roma!
Martedì 30 Gennaio 2018
Sunny: 59°F/15°C in Roma
Sunny: 66°F/19°C in Cedar Park, Texas
Buona giornata amici miei!
      Following our initial week in Milano and I settled back into my rental apartment, my newest Roman Holiday commenced. We had hit the ground running the moment we got back with our jaunt to Lumina Studios and the taping of the pilot episode of the TV game show About You, that the

La famiglia: MikeBo,

Annamaria & Sergio,

Michael & Laura

show’s producers hope will be picked up by the European networks. Watching my son in action on the set brought back memories of my own radio and television career, now several decades in the past.  I’ve already described several hats that Michael wears in his career: English teacher, tour guide and musician. On this vacation, I’ve seen him add several more credits to his burgeoning résumé – television personality and stand-up comic! So, with that visit to the studio, I realized that a lot of time on this Roman Holiday would not be sightseeing among the treasures of ancient Rome but watching my son in action!

     Rome is home to a large community of expatriates from all nations, speaking a multitude of languages. In that sense, it reminds me of the New York of my late teens when I was a student just getting started with my own career, or the San Francisco of my 20’s and the Hollywood of my 30’s when my broadcasting career was finally getting established. Only Rome has a two thousand year or so head start on New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles, but the same principle applies – these are cities where dreams are born.
      One of the dreamers is Marsha De Francesco – Marsha Cincinnati- who has taken the name of her home town as her nom de plume as the impresario driving Rome’s Comedy Club, a hardy band of aspiring comedians who perform regularly at various Rome clubs to multilingual audiences. The

Rome Comedy Club's

"Marsha  Cincinnatti"

troupe consists of a variety of nationalities – Italians and Americans, of course, but a potpourri of other nationalities as well: Polish, Irish, German, Spanish, and a veritable array of European stand-up comics. This production of Rome’s Comedy Club unfolded at The Tiki Lounge, but the troupe performs at various venues. The last time I was in Rome, last Spring, Marsha asked Michael to act as Master of Ceremonies. The audience response prompted Marsha to ask him to do a stand-up routine, which was very well received, which prompted Marsha to invite him back when the comedy troupe performs again at the end of February.  Marsha made sure that Laura and I had seats right up front, which earned me an impromptu appearance as a straight man in comic Devo’s slightly-blue routine. So, even Michael’s stage dad had a moment in the spotlight.

On the way from my apartment on Viale dell’Oceano Atlantico to Michael and Laura’s home, I spotted the unmistakable outline of a circus tent in the parking lot of the EurRoma Due shopping center. It resembled the familiar Cirque du Soleil big top. But this was

Finale: CirCuba!

the big tent for CirCuba, Cuba’s National Circus. When I said that because of the political situation back home CirCuba won’t be playing in Texas any time soon, Michael said, Fine! Laura and I were talking about going. We’ll invite Laura’s folks and we’ll all go! And, so we did. If it’s still problematic for an American citizen to travel to Cuba, it’s NO problem for an American visitor in Rome to go to CirCuba!

What a show! CirCuba plays to its audience from the one-ring European model circus, not the three ring Big Top of American circuses. So, the more intimate setting seems to amplify the energy of the acrobats, gymnasts and jugglers and the Cuban music which drives the performers. Of course, there were the clowns who kept the audience engaged while the stagehands and performers moved scenery and equipment on stage between the acts.  It was a highly entertaining evening out of my month-long sojourn in Roma. You may have to travel out of the good old USA to see one of the greatest shows on Earth, because CirCuba isn’t going to pitch its Big Top in Miami anytime soon!

       Another installment of my Rome Diary is coming your way very soon. I’ll keep you posted along the way.

Ciao,
MikeBo

[Mike Botula is the author of LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! He is a retired broadcast journalist, government spokesperson and media consultant.   Mike’s book is available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books. You can follow his blog at: mikebotula.blogspot.com, or visit Mike Botula at www.mikebotula.com]

Sopresa! Siamo a Milano!

Rome Diary IV:
Il Mio Ritorno a Roma!
Wednesday January 24, 2018
Sunny 59°F/15°C in Rome
Sunny 51°F/10°C in Milano
Sunny 50°/10° in Austin, Texas
Buona giornata amici miei!
      Translated, the title of the first blog in the new series of Rome Diaries is: Surprise! We Are in Milan! But, hey! It’s OK because I landed in Rome after my long flight from Texas, and that’s where

Andiamo a Milano!

my rental apartment is. But Michael and Laura wanted to take me with them to Milan for my birthday, and since I’ve never been to Milan before, I repacked a small bag and the very next day, the three of us caught the Italotreno, the sleek, high-speed train that shuttles between Roma and Milano at speeds up to 300 kph or 200 mph, double any sane highway speeds. (Eat your heart out, AMTRAK!)

      Normally, I go to ground for a few days after a long transatlantic flight to cure my jet lag and other travel jitters, but this time, I hit the ground running and I did not get a chance to relax in my apartment for the next week. We stopped by to drop my bag and pick up the keys from Amina, the landlady and went out to dinner. Then after a night’s sleep Michael and I headed for Milan.
     Since my last visit in the spring of last year – la primavera – Laura has changed jobs and now works in Milano, commuting from Rome to Milano on Tuesday, returning Thursday or Friday and working from home in Rome on the days she is not in Milano. Upon arrival at Termini station in Roma Central, we stopped at a snack bar and picked up two panini e bevande, so we could snack on the train.
      Europe, Japan and now China are light years ahead of the U.S. in the development of a high-speed rail system. California has one under construction, Texas has another on the drawing board, but the battle for American high-speed rail is all uphill. Too bad! It’s 350 miles from Rome to Milan, a six-hour drive. The high-speed Italotreno traverses that distance in half the time – three hours flat! Italy has two high-speed rail lines, Trenitalia, which I’ve ridden to Florence and Venice, and Italotreno, which we took to Milano.
      Since this trip to Milan was a special birthday gift from Michael and Laura, a very special tour of the city had been arranged by my son the professional City Wonders tour guide. But first, a short cab ride from Milano Centrale to our rented (Airbnb) apartment on Corso San Gottardo, where we met Laura and checked in. As we walked in to the inner courtyard, I spotted a gleaming glass elevator which had been installed long after the main building. I was relieved because I knew our apartment was up a long flight of stairs on il primo piatti, what Europeans refer to as the first floor, and Americans know as the second floor. My advancing years and a bad back problem have me walking with a cane anyway. Laura must have seen the relief in my eyes when I caught sight of the elevator. Don’t get your hopes up! That elevator is not for us, she said. We don’t have a key. When I asked her why we couldn’t use the elevator, she explained. The residents of the building decided to chip in and pay the cost of installing the elevator, she said. One resident refused to contribute, so the rest of the tenants locked him out of the elevator. The apartment we’re staying in does not have access to the elevator. Laura concluded, and that’s why you have to hobble up a flight of stairs!
       Corso San Gottardo runs parallel to one of the network of canals – The Navigli - that once connected Milan with the Po River and thence to the Adriatic Sea, which made the city of Milan an inland port city on the order of Stockton, California, which lies 100 or so miles up the Sacramento River from San Francisco Bay in Central California. Some of the canals were filled in in the 1930s, and by the 1960s plans to remake Milan as an inland port were abandoned. Along the remaining canals today is an enchanting river walk, La Darsena, with quaint shops and restaurants with an abundance of ancient, historical buildings that give this part of Milan a unique flavor.  Once we settled in to our comfy second floor, or primo piatti apartamento, we headed out for a stroll along the Naviglio Pavese looking for a ristorante to have dinner. I had no idea that Milano, like Venice was a city of canals. But, unlike Venice and its famed gondolieri and their sleek, black gondolas, the canals of Milano are awash in the kayaks belonging to the city’s sports clubs.
      The next morning while Laura headed off to work, Michael led the way up the Corso to the tram stop, where we caught the Number 3 trolley to Il Duomo, Milan’s spectacular gleaming white

marble cathedral. There, we caught up with our City Wonders guide, Simone, who would take us on a walking tour through Milano toward what my son had decided would be the piece de resistance of my birthday celebration, an opportunity to stand and gaze at Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece The Last Supper! But first, Simone led our group through the heavy security cordon surrounding all of Italy’s landmarks in this era of heightened tensions. Il Duomo, or Milan Cathedral took nearly six hundred years to build. Its trademark white marble was quarried miles away and was carried by barge through the canals to a port adjacent to the construction site. Simone kept up with his colorful description of the art works and events that have taken place in the cathedral over the centuries. As we exited the cathedral, Michael and I left the tour because there was a statue that we wanted to see that was not on Simone’s regular tour

itinerary – the artist Maurizio Cattalan’s huge statue of a hand with its middle finger extended skyward toward Milan’s stock exchange in a statement intended by Cattalan for the stock exchange’s brokers and bankers. The giant finger caused a furor when it was first installed in 2010, but, it remains to this day in Piazza Affari blaring its message across the piazza to the denizens of La Borsa, Milano’s venerable stock exchange. Naturally, Michael and I took time to snap some selfies with the giant statue.
      By now it was almost time for our main attraction, The Last Supper. A short stroll past Sforza Castle, built in the 15^th century by Francesco Sforza, Duke of Milan, brought us to the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie, where the mural is displayed. After passing through the usual tight security our group was led through a series of interlocking, climate-controlled glass chambers until we reached the convent’s former dining hall where we came into the presence of Leonardo’s masterpiece.  I

thought to myself, so this is the centerpiece in Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code.” Well done, Robert Langdon!
      Both Laura and I were celebrating our birthdays in this same week – me on Wednesday and Laura on Friday. For my birthday, Laura and Michael took me to a Ristorante Milanese-cum Texas-style dining establishment called Brisket! Sure enough, the entryway was adorned by a large map of the Lone Star State, and inside, Lone Star flags graced the walls. My namesake meal was delicious! The brisket I had definitely had been cooked by an Italian chef. Not quite Franklin’s in Austin, but it was tender and delicious. Later, the owner told us that he special-orders his meats from the U.S. After a short stroll along Naviglio Pavese, we were back at our apartment.
       Friday morning, Laura left early for a meeting at her office. She would meet us later at Milano

Laura, MikeBo, Michael at Dinner

Centrale, Milan’s main train terminal for the three-hour ride back to Rome. Michael’s day would not be over for many hours yet. A van would be waiting to take him to Lumina Studios to rehearse for the television pilot he would record the next night. But, the studio driver’s first stop was his house, so he could pick up his ukulele for the rehearsal. Once we got to the house, Michael grabbed his instrument and headed to rehearsal. Laura drove me back to my apartment where I collapsed in a heap. It had been an exhilarating but exhausting week!

Next time: A star is born, and other adventures! I’ll keep you posted along the way.
Ciao,
MikeBo

[Mike Botula is the author of LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! He is a retired broadcast journalist, government spokesperson and media consultant.   Mike’s book is available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books. You can visit Mike Botula at www.mikebotula.com]

Up, Up and Away! Soon

Rome Diary IV:
Il Mio Ritorno a Roma!
December 31, 2017
Mostly Cloudy 55°F/13°C in Rome, Italy
Cloudy 39°F/4°C in Cedar Park, Texas
Buona giornata amici miei!
      This is my final blog for 2017. In a few hours, there will be a new year, and new adventures ahead. There will be another birthday, and new musings on how swiftly time flies. First thing on my  New Year’s agenda: Rome!

I live for my travels to the Eternal City. It’s a romance that dates back to Mr. Diamond’s Latin

Michael, Laura, MikeBo in Venice

class at good old Riverhead High School, when I first started learning about the wonders of the ancient world. There must be something in the Botula family gene pool, because my son Michael went to Europe, met his future wife Laura in London and went back to Rome with her and are living their happily ever after in Rome. My first visit came in 2005, and I’ve dutifully returned regularly ever since.

The first several visits were typical vacation trips. My first Roman Holiday, came with an ambitious two-week plan: Rome, Pompeii, Florence and Pisa, and of course, Venice.  In spite of the high hopes, I never left Rome on that trip. Too much to see and do in Rome. Since then, I’ve scaled back on my travel ambitions and lengthened my time in-country. In 2013, I traveled to Rome for what I thought might be a two week sojourn. Instead, I stayed more than two months. After the first few weeks, Michael and Laura found me a studio apartment nearby, left me behind, and went on a ten-day cruise. Since then, we have followed that pattern. On this trip, I am renting the same small apartment I lived in this spring. It’s near Michael and Laura, it’s close to the bancomat and market and it’s located within a short walk to the metro.

Looking back, I can see that I was following a very familiar pattern often taken by first-time overseas travelers – planning too ambitious an itinerary. Too often, the first-time international traveler returns home in a daze. The vacation has unfolded in a blur of activity. Were we in Rome on Tuesday, or was that Berlin? When were we in Paris? I remember the Eiffel Tower, but, what day was it? So, my sage advice to first time travelers is this: Go ahead and book a complete tour with flights, hotels and meals included. Make sure you take local tours so you are sure to see the sights. But, keep in the back of your mind what you’d like to see on your RETURN TRIP. That way you can profit by your lessons learned on your guided tour and apply them to a more leisurely pace on your return trip.

Thanks to globalization and the internet, a Roman Holiday can be yours as easily as a family trip to Disneyland, especially in Europe where the Euro is the currency of choice in 19 countries. (The current rate of exchange is 1 Euro = $1.19 USD). I always order a supply of Euros from my bank before I leave, so that I have some local currency to spend until my first visit to an Italian bancomat, or ATM. Your credit cards will work in the EU as well. Just make sure they are cards with the computer chip. And, it’s always a good idea to let your bank and credit card company know the dates and places you will be traveling.

I always advise my traveling buddies to invest in a good travel book to take along. Having some handy phrases in the local language will go a long way to endearing you to the natives. I carry and array of city street maps as well. Also, in keeping with my current virtual existence, my IPAD and IPhone both carry the Google Translator, so I can augment the Italian I’ve learned in Patrizia Papi’s language classes at Austin Community College.  The GPS features on both handheld devices largely replace maps and guidebooks, but, my Boy Scout training has instilled in me an incentive to have a map and guidebook handy as a back-up.

Michael’s band, No Funny Stuff! is playing in Milan a few days following my  arrival in Rome. So, we will be traveling on the high-speed train from Rome to Northern Italy for a few days on my first adventure out of Rome. Since my birthday and Laura’s birthday fall within a few days of each other, we plan on a joint birthday celebration in Milan. In keeping with my policy of  over-planning my vacations, the trip to Milan is the only event on my itinerary so far. But, I know at the other end of the month, there will be other adventures and other destinations.

My laptop and my IPad are traveling with me, so, I will be writing about my journey along the way.

I’ll keep you posted.
Ciao,
MikeBo

[Mike Botula is the author of LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! He is a retired broadcast journalist, government spokesperson and media consultant.   Mike’s book is available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books. You can visit Mike Botula at www.mikebotula.com]

Day of Infamy: An Untold Story for December 7, 2017

Day of Infamy: An Untold Story for December 7, 2017

MikeBo’s Blog!
Partly Cloudy 52°F/11°C Roma, Lazio, Italia
Cloudy 42°F/6°C Cedar Park, Texas
Buonagiornata!
    Today marks the seventy-sixth anniversary of Japan’s attack on the US Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, a date that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt would tell a Joint Session of Congress the following

USS Arizona

day would go down in history as A Day Which Will Live in Infamy. From that moment forward, America would be at war, entwined in the greatest global conflict in the history of the world.
    One of the survivors of the Pearl Harbor  attack was a young Petty Officer named Harry Neil Schultz, a native of Washington. Schultz later went on to command LST 920, an amphibious landing ship that my father, Lieutenant Charles Botula, Jr. served aboard as Executive Officer during 1944 and 1945.
   Schultz’s heroism in the aftermath of a Nazi U-boat attack on my father’s ship off the coast of England in August, 1944 is chronicled in my book, LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! While I was researching the book, I talked to several members of Schultz’ family who told me that Harry Schultz had joined the Navy in 1937. He was one of five brothers who served in various branches of the armed forces in WW2. On December 7, 1941, Harry Schultz was aboard his ship, the destroyer USS Jarvis (DD 393) on that fateful Sunday morning at Pearl Harbor. His story is also told in a chapter in my book. This account is from my website.
Harry Schultz: Defiant Hero!

Onward and Upward!

Ciao,
MikeBo

© Mike Botula 2017

[Mike Botula is the author of LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! He is a retired broadcast journalist, government spokesperson and media consultant.   Mike’s book is available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books. You can read more about Mike Botula at www.mikebotula.com]

Roma Diario IV: Il Mio Ritorno a Roma!

MikeBo’s Blog!
Sunday 19 November 2017
Sunny: 60°F/15°C Roma, EUR, Italia
Mostly Sunny: 65°F/18°C Cedar Park, Texas
Buonagiornata!
     The doctor glanced a his computer screen, smiled, and looked over at my daughter and I and said, Okay! The good news is … no cancer!  It’s amazing just how good for morale a few spoken words like that can be! 
      My primary physician had referred me onto a specialist when one of my blood tests registered

high. This appointment was with the specialist to go over the results of a biopsy, and he had asked me to bring a family  member with me to the consultation, just in case….! So, as months of angst dissipated, I said, I HAD been planning my next trip to Italy. Can I book my flight?  His reply, Sure, but I would like to re-check you in three months. Bon Voyage! My snappy retort, I’m going to Italy, doctor. That’s Buon Viaggio!

"Roma è la città di echi, la città delle illusioni e la città di desiderio".

Giotto di Bondone, 1337
      [“Rome is the city of echoes, the city of illusions, and the city of desire.”]

The wheels had been turning ever since I returned from my last trip in April. I had originally planned to spend the holidays back in Rome with Michael and Laura, but then that lab work threw a wrench into my plans. Now, everything was back off hold, and my travel planning lurched back up to speed. The new trip will be a birthday celebration instead of a family Christmas, but that’s okay.

       I’ll be spending my vacation in the same apartment where I stayed the last time. Michael called Amina, the landlady and she reserved it for me. So, I’m back in a familiar neighborhood, near Michael and Laura. I’ve made the transition from being a tourist just dropping in to Rome to becoming a part-time resident of the Eternal City. After a challenging year in Texas with hurricanes, mass shootings and conservative politics, I’m actually looking forward to a winter holiday in Europe, especially a pilgrimage I hope to make to the Czech Republic.
       As many of my friends and the folks who know me or follow my adventures on Facebook, my blog or www.mikebotula.com are aware, my paternal grandparents emigrated from the vicinity of Ostrava in what is now the Czech Republic back in 1903. I’ve also included some of our family history in my book about my father’s World War 2 adventures, LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! (Barnes and Noble on-line, and Amazon Books). I am a proud product of America’s Immigrant Experience!
      The world has gotten a lot smaller since I made my first overseas trip in 1975, to Frankfurt, Germany to visit my brother Packy, who was stationed there in the US Air Force. We toured Bavaria, Austria and Northern Italy on that trip exchanging US dollars into deutschemarks, Austrian schillings and Italian lira along the way. Now, when I need spending money or go shopping I visit a corner bancomat and top off my  wallet with Euros. The US dollar is worth about the same as the Euro. (Current exchange rate: € 1.00 = US $ 1.18). A trip to Rome is no less challenging than a weekend in San Francisco. And, I highly recommend visits to both great cities.
       It has certainly made my visits to Italy more enjoyable having a member of the family – my son Michael – actually living in the city where I spend most of the time. It further helps the cause to have a son who not only lives there, but makes most of his income as a guide for City Wonders Tours. When I was younger and the kids were growing up, I used to take Michael and his sister Dana to work with me quite frequently. Now the shoe is on the other foot, and Michael has taken me to work with him as he leads tours all around Rome, Florence, Venice, Naples and points in between like Pompeii, Montecassino, and Pisa. My grandparents came to America to seek new opportunities and to raise their family. My son has reversed the pattern, and I am following in his footsteps.
       My ticket for the trip, in jet age steerage is booked, my apartment in Rome is reserved. All I need to do now is tuck my passport in my pocket  and get to the airport, which I’ll do shortly after the holidays. I’ll be chronicling my adventures, large and small in my upcoming series Rome Diary  IV: Il Mio Ritorno a Roma!  
Onward and Upward!

Ciao,
MikeBo

© Mike Botula 2017

[Mike Botula is the author of LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! He is a retired broadcast journalist, government spokesperson and media consultant.   Mike’s book is available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books. You can read more about Mike Botula at www.mikebotula.com]

Diary of an ex-Press Secretary!

MikeBo’s Blog!
Retired in a small city in Texas
November 16, 2017
Buonagiornata!  
    I actually felt sorry for Donald Trump the other day, and embarrassed for every press secretary

L'arancia grande beve l'acqua!

who ever dropped the ball on a small but vital detail. POTUS’s scramble for his drink of water during

his mid-week news conference is still reverberating on TV and computer screens, tablets and I Phones around the globe and is destined to be replayed down through the centuries. History will note it as a defining moment of the Trump Presidency.

   And now, I’m wondering which minor minion in the White House Press Office will be fired for the President’s gaffe. In the rules of the press secretary profession, the cardinal rule is: Never leave undone any small detail that allows your boss to look bad!  In the flackery game, letting your boss look bad is a capital offense, a mortal sin, and a Bozo no-no!
   In normal times, the White House Press Office is the undisputed World Champion among government press agencies, bar none. As a reporter, I’ve had occasion to cover presidential press events all the way back to LBJ’s visit to Phoenix, Arizona three weeks after the Kennedy assassination in Dallas in November, 1963. In California, I covered  Ronald Reagan when he was governor and during his presidency. I also covered the Western White House during Watergate. Trust me when I say that the President of the United States should never have to scramble for a sip of water during a televised news conference. And, to have to unscrew a plastic bottle of water and gulp from it like a field hand… well, it’s just gauche beyond words!
   I covered thousands of press conferences over my decades as a radio and TV reporter. But, I never realized the science behind the staging of a news conference until I was hired by a political consulting firm to do advance press relations for a California ballot initiative in 1988. That campaign kicked off a whole new career line for me. The following year, I joined the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office as News Secretary to District Attorney Ira Reiner. Two District Attorneys later, I left for Sacramento following my appointment by Governor Gray Davis as Assistant Director for Public Information for the new state Department of Child Support Services. I’ve had a lot of experience with news conferences.
   I could do a university lecture on How to Organize a News Conference. (And, in fact, I have.) But, let’s focus on TLC at the podium. Even the most seasoned veteran will experience a dry throat or begin to perspire during his or her presentation. So a basic detail is to have a glass of water nearby along with a small package of tissues.  I always huddled with my client before the start of the news conference to make sure he had his talking points in the proper pocket. The briefing always included the location of the glass or cup of water. (No bottles).
   One of the participants at I news conference I was responsible for was considerably shorter than my boss. So, I had a special riser built, to eliminate the sharp difference in the height of the two speakers. Later, my boss told me that the visiting dignitary was impressed because your Press Secretary thinks of everything!
   Poor POTUS! He travels to  the far reaches of the earth on a 12-day journey to meet with world leaders, engaging in the most monumental political tasks, and wants to share his good news upon his return with his nation and the world. But, what is the most notable moment of that entire effort? The leader of the Free World fumbling with a screw-top water bottle!
    Somewhere behind the scene at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, heads are rolling!
Onward and Upward!

Ciao,
MikeBo

© Mike Botula 2017

[Mike Botula is the author of LST 920: Charlie Botula’s Long, Slow Target! He is a retired broadcast journalist, government spokesperson and media consultant.   Mike’s book is available from Amazon or Barnes and Noble Books. You can read more about Mike Botula at www.mikebotula.com]