This is the depleted basket in which guests to our annual Christmas party have taken the small gifts collected by my wife Suzanne during our most memorable trip this year (quest' anno). This year the trip of note was to Sicily where I visited the village of Marineo near Palermo in which my roots are sunk. Therefore the "Merry Christmas and Happy New Year" sign hanging from the basket handle is written in Sicilian. il insegno "Buon Natale ed il nuovo anno felice" scritto in siciliano

In June of 1998, I took the Eurostar from Rome to Perugia where I spent a pleasant afternoon after giving a lecture at the Istituto di Etnologia e Antropologia Culturale, Corso di Antroplogia Visuale, University of Perugia. It wasn't such a wild and crazy place then, but then again, neither was/am I.