Jo Anne
The first few days of our stay in Italy we spent in Rome. We did a lot of walking. On our way to tour the Forum one day I couldn't get Samantha to keep up. She kept doing some strange hop and then pause and we were starting to fall behind. I asked her what was going on and she said "Those things. I'm afraid they are going to burn my feet". Looking down, between the pebbles of the sidewalk, I could see what she was talking about it. There was a web of cigarette butts. Steve and I hadn't even noticed them. I guess when you are three and a half feet tall, you notice what is around your feet every bit as much as what is at eye level. I explained they were long put out and wouldn't burn her and all was OK.
We walked through the Forum and went up on Palatine Hill to see what was once the homes of the emperors. It started to drizzle and then rain. We took cover with a bunch of other tourists under a sort of archway or tunnel that was part of the ruins. The rain kept going and it become clear at some point we were going to have to settle in there for a while. I felt a familiar little tug on my shirt, and Samantha whispered "Mom" and then very loudly, "Smoker!!" as she pointed an accusing finger at this woman just beginning to light up a cigarette. It kind of seemed like the reaction you might give to someone say stealing a purse (of course then you would be yelling Thief!). Unfortunately, the woman spoke some English. On the bright side though, she had a sense of humor and I saw her laughing and explaining to her friends what had just happened. We ended up sharing a laugh too and I tried to tell her how they teach the kids in school about the hazards of smoking. I was paranoid she might think I had started a campaign to teach my kids to hate smokers. ;) I think she told me she was trying to quit.
I read a statistic that said 30% of Italian men smoke. This could spell trouble
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