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Christmas is coming!
Christmas is coming! How moving:today I saw someone give a mobile phone, a watch, and a wallet to a person whose only possession was a knife. The spirit of giving is alive!You can already feel the Christmas atmosphere!
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Sicilian linguistic features
In Sicilian one says “accattari un picciriddu”: literally, “to buy a child”. An expression that, to modern ears, may sound amusing or disorienting. Yet behind those seemingly improper words lies a precise linguistic history and an ancient way of understanding birth. The verb “accattari” did not originally mean “to buy”. In older language and in…
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The hours pass and are accounted for
“Pereunt et imputantur”“The hours pass and are accounted for.” It is a Latin expression that reminds us of the importance of not wasting time and of making it fruitful, one of the most famous phrases engraved on ancient sundials. Its meaning is clear and relentless: time does not merely flow, it accumulates on our account.…
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How Italians choose a restaurant without checking reviews
(Inspired by a post by “Heritance Italy”) If you have ever wondered how Italians consistently manage to find good food, the answer is disarmingly simple: we almost never check reviews. Not because we distrust technology, but because we trust something older, sharper and infinitely more reliable — instinct, observation and a lifetime of culinary literacy.…
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Changing strategy at the last minute
“Surprising people” is driving through a red light.“Improvising” is slamming on the brakes when the light is green. Two actions equally unpredictable, yet opposite in their wisdom. It is a joke, of course. But, as often happens, humour captures the world of work and leadership with surgical precision. In traffic, as in teams, surprising others…
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What it means to be responsible doctors
This week I underwent surgery to remove a cataract. A simple procedure, at least when described: the surgeon enters the eye, removes the “damaged” crystalline lens, and replaces it with a new one, selected to compensate for any pre-existing visual defects. This is the account of an ordinary patient whose quality of life has improved…
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Why Are Italians Always Late? (Should be: Why Do People WRONGLY Believe Italians Are Always Late?)
Italians are not always late, but the stereotype persists because it contains a grain of cultural truth — a small one, the size of a coffee bean, but still enough to fuel an entire international myth. It is not really about punctuality in the strict sense. It is about a different relationship with time, one…
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How to wash a cat
How to wash a cat 1.Put both lids of the toilet up and add 1/8 cup of pet shampoo to the water in the bowl. 2. Pick up the cat and soothe her while you carry her towards the bathroom. 3. In one smooth movement, put the cat in the toilet and close both lids.…
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One, No One and One Hundred Thousand
A dear friend of mine has found himself today in a situation that is authentically “Pirandellian” (as in Luigi Pirandello, 1934 Literature Nobel Laureate). A cyber-attack has caused him to lose his main social media account, the one through which he used to speak to the world. That account was tied to an alias, and…
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Why is the “pot-licker” kitchen tool called “Marisa” in Italian?
We are talking about one of the most common and indispensable kitchen tools: the rubber or silicone spatula, more commonly known in English as a “rubber spatula” or simply a “scraper”. The rubber spatula consists of a long handle, usually made of wood, steel, or rigid plastic, and a flat, soft, flexible tip, today almost…
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History of the adhesive bandage
History of the adhesive bandageLife, death and miracles of a device that saves both lives and honour Before beginning, it may help international readers to understand the family of words from which “sparatrap” originates. In much of Europe, the earliest form of the term was the French sparadrap, itself derived from the medieval Latin sparare…
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You are a good listener
For some time now I have often been told, “You are a good listener.”The remark surprises me every time. I have always listened, of course, but for many years I doubt I truly deserved the adjective “good”. And I do not think this new reputation comes from age, which sometimes leads people to mistake the…
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“Your stripes are earned in the sweat, son… but your honor is earned in the silence.”
(Anonymous source) Apart from the obvious military context, this aphorism separates effort from dignity, and achievement from character. Stripes come from action: the long hours, the discipline, the grind that nobody sees but everybody benefits from.Sweat leaves a visible trace. It is measurable. It is the world of deliverables, tasks, and results. Honour, instead, belongs…
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Transactional v Personal
Today I had an enjoyable discussion with a technical partner.We spent quite some time on a single theme: how to earn clients’ trust, how to move beyond standard market rules, how to build a new international venture together.It was a pleasant exchange because we were aligned on the guiding principles and on one essential point:…
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10 Subtle Signs That You May Be Ready to Retire
(Inspired by Bruce Horovitz,“10 Subtle Signs That You Are Ready to Retire”,Wall Street Journal, 19 November 2025) We always imagine a dramatic moment of revelation, a thunderbolt from above announcing: it is time.In reality, for most of us, no epiphany ever arrives.What we do receive are small messages, discreet yet insistent. Tiny yellow lights blinking…
