Manalapan, New Jersey
Saturday, July 27, 2002
First I wish to say that at the
Milan Airport while waiting for the plane home, I was having a relaxing cappucino when a large group of people came and sat right next to me. A Black fellow surrounded by a few Blacks and a lot of white guys. When I looked over to their tables, I realized it was Jesse Jackson, one of the great leaders of the African American Movement in the United States, who made the very inappropriate reference to NYC as Heimie Town (sp ?). Although I was tempted to ask him how he could make such a dumb remark, I actually walked over to him slowly, showing his body guards that I was harmless, reached out my right hand, and said, Reverend Jackson, I am very pleased to meet you. My name is Alan Greenhalgh from New Jersey, and I have always admired your work !! That much is actually true, except for that remark. He was very nice, and gracious and smiled at me and asked if I were going home. I said, yes after 2 weeks traveling around Italy. He said he had just been somewhere in the Middle East and was also heading home as well.That was it, a moment I will never forget. Now the flight home. Uneventful, luckily !
I was pleased that I had arrived home safe and sound after all that traveling, another extraordinary vacation in Italy. I listed my favorite things on this trip.First and foremost was being healthy for the entire trip. Second was maintaining e mail connection with home on a regular basis. Third was being with my friends in
Florence and Comeana, and fourth Florence and the hotel, fifth my days in Tuscany with Lidia. I was truly blessed. I then spent a lot of time trying to decide which hotel would be my new second home, Croce di Malta or The Westin Excelsior. Stay tuned.
