INSPIRATION

“Are you Italian?”

Admiration Woman had gushed her opening greeting before blurting out this question. Her eyes shining. Excited.

Where the hell did she get this from, P wonders? Oh, yeah, that’s right. Sophia Loren is P’s long lost twin!

“Uh….no…why do you ask?” P says instead.
“These goggles you show me on last week? You said they were from Italy.”

“Oh, yeah, that’s right. They are. (P remembers now how she'd recommended the fabulous Aqua Sphere Mask, made in Italy, when AW was asking the lifeguard about goggles.)



"But unfortunately, I’m not Italian," P sighs longingly. "Though I wish I were! I am Italian in my heart,” she offers.

AW nods. “Yes. I do know your meaning.”

“Are you Italian?” P asks, knowing that AW is Something Sexy.
“Oh, no,” she giggles. “I am from Brazil.”


Of course, P thinks to herself. Sexy and crazy. Perfect.

“I mean that is where I live the first twelve year of my life. Then I come here and I marry and that it does not work out and I have my kid and now here I am. I have some little bit of Italian, maybe, way back in my ancestor, but no, I am from Brazil.”

“I’ve never been to Brazil. But I’d like to visit. Where are you from?”
AW rattles off an exotic locale in her native tongue. P tries to pretend that she knows where it is but then decides that since it’s not Rio maybe few Americans would know it anyway, so asks where it is.

“It is in the Midwest,” she nods, describing neighboring towns that are nowhere near Greenville, Indiana.

“My mother she come with me here to America. Oh, I am so lucky to have her here with me. I did not know her when I was growing up, but now I get to know her and I am so blessed.”
P doesn’t ask why she brought her mother into the dialogue, but just goes with AW’s crazy lack of Linearality Dialogue.

“Well, your mom was raising you and you were growing up and younger and so yeah, it makes sense that you didn’t really know her when you were growing up,” P offers.
“That is it exactly!” she exclaims. “But now, it is hard to find the word to talk to her, you know? I want to find the word but it is not there. I feel so sad about this but what can I do?”

P nods having no idea what she’s talking about. “Are you doing anything for Mother’s Day?”
“Oh, yes!” she brightens instantly. “We will go to Church. And then we will go to brunch me and my son and she will be so happy and I will feel so blessed.”



P nods again, wondering what to say next. But to be honest, she doesn’t have to say anything. She only has to sit in the Hilltopia Sauna and nod her head. AW will do all the rest.
“Have you read the book, Eat Pray Love,” she asks.
“Yes, that’s a fun one, esp. the first part about Italy.”
“I love that book!” AW gushes.
“Have you read her short stories?” P asks.
“No!” AW eyes shine, enthusiasm oozing.
“They’re very well done. I think the name of the collection I read was called, Pilgrims but you could just look up the author on the internet. Her name is Elizabeth Gilbert.”


“Elizabeth Gilbert,” AW repeats thoughtfully. “Wow! Thanks! You are always such an Inspiration.”
P laughs, wants to return the compliment by telling AW that no, in fact, she, AW, is such An Inspiration. If only she know how many great blogs she’s inspired.

Inspiration comes in all forms, though. As Sophia Loren once quipped, "Everything you see I owe to spaghetti."

And for P?
Everything you see, she owes to the Pool. But spaghetti's not far behind. Nor is gelato, cappuccino, Dante, Michelangelo, Leto and of course, Sophia....