Philadelphia (Usa/Pennsylvania) - April 28. We landed here from Italy last night. We rented a car and drove to our cousin's home, a few miles from Philadelphia. More than a home it is a mansion, built around the turn of the century. It's a fabulous place, surrounded by acres of land.
I get out at seven in the morning, cross a lawn full of daffodils and aimlessly follow a line of sycamores. I'm in America again, after a year. Three days ago - a lifetime - I ran the "Pisa Marathon" and, three weeks before, the "Turin Marathon". Yesterday, as we had a drink on the veranda, a little deer, a bambi, showed up on the lawn, and our host recommended that we scan our daughter for ticks before putting her to bed. Deer ticks are very small and they carry a terrible infection called "Lime's disease".
My muscles feel the two marathons I just ran but, overall, I'm not doing badly. I stop for some stretching and work on my hamstrings on a fallen tree trunk. There are no human noises, just the sounds of the woods.
Our cousin has been fighting cancer for seven years. She had self-transplants, chemo cycles, radio cycles. Even yesterday she had a bout with chemo and then quickly came home to make dinner before we arrived. After dinner we talked and I was impressed by her philosophy. "Forty years old" - she said - "a good age. I'm happy I got here. Now I live a day at a time... turn forty every day...".
We ought to learn life from her. I try to picture life through her eyes. How green is this meadow. How blue is this sky. How strong are the smells in this woods. How beautiful life is. How hard it would be to leave it.
I ran a loop and now I'm in the entrance lane again. She planted a line of cherry trees with her own hands. I read somewhere that those who do not believe in God don't believe in the future either... and plant no trees.
Giorgio Pogliano’s morning coffee doesn’t come in a cup, but he can still find it everywhere. Running each morning is his daily “coffee” – it gives him the surge of energy, something good to reflect upon during the day, and a reason to look forward to tomorrow. Just like the different types of coffee found around the world, Giorgio finds different surroundings as he runs.
