Growing up in Seattle was ideal' mostly because it was well educated and non-denominational. People read allot, invented things, which allowed the entrepreneurial spirit to thrive, hence we would produce and export, a lot. The crummy weather, combined with defense monies from the 'cold war' created R & D which naturally set the tone for a tech and bio tech environment.
There were a few catholic neighborhoods but the brand of Catholicism was so watered down it barely mattered. My beloved married an Episcopalian but always wanted to go back to her Catholic roots, if only because the protocol and pageantry was so elegant and well done. And when she spent a few months with me in Rome, the feelings intensified. Standing next to the Pope just two feet away, didn't alleviate those urges.
I married into an Italian Catholic family and when you compare the Irish strain to the Catholic strain, it's almost shocking they herald from the same place. The Irish have a guilty strain that's peculiar and almost base, whereas the Italian strain I experienced while living in Rome was more 'ne abbiamo vista di cotte e di crude', translating; we could care less, we love Papa, but really, we could care less.
And now, living in Malta, I see a much more strident strain, which makes sense as the people were attacked so often, in such an isolated geographical place, therefore holding tightly, or rather being tightly held, depending upon your perception.
But what is most liberating about travel is the view; you can listen to the shallow
