My wife and I recently went on a Roman holiday. I sat and drew a statue that’s part of the Bernini fountain in Piazza Navona. The rest of the drawings I did of statues in separate churches I was exploring. As I was sketching, there was a tap on my shoulder. The police. I seem to always break some regulation. Now what? They spoke no English so we couldn’t communicate too well. One polizia officer was saying something like, “tutti straordinario” which I guess meant, no squirrels near the fountain. They started laughing at me and walked away. I then met my wife in one of the square’s cafes. I was finishing up my drawing when the waiter asked to see my book. He yelled for the other waiters to come over. They passed around my sketchbook while he loudly declared that I was as good as Michelangelo. The Italians and I are copacetic.
