Oh these silly, silly I-talians.  They've come up with yet another way to squeeze money out of their citizens.  In the new economic package they are approving this week is a provision to shorten the time a traffic light is yellow from 4 seconds to 3 seconds thereby catching more people running red lights.  This has nothing to do with safety, just more ways to line someone's pocket.

Speaking of being sucked dry, tonight we paid the deposit on Grace's braces.  Somehow they manage to be even more expensive here than in the US.  This is second time around as she has the fortune of having inherited my lovely undersized jaw. (Big teeth, small, downward tilting jaw, 8 teeth out, pallet expander, 2 sets of braces.)  Our dentist, private as one never goes to public dentists, (doctors yes, dentists no),  who was educated in the States, has children at the school and is disgustingly drop dead beautiful at 50+, will put the braces on next Monday.  On Friday she has to extract 2 teeth and fill a cavity.  I predict a tragic weekend with my courageous daughter.  Fortunately I have to oversea SAT exams on Saturday morning so I can avoid much of the whining and complaining.  The dentist office is in one of my favorite parts of the city, on a street closed to traffic, lined with expensive boutiques and across the street from the English cinema.  It's a fabulous old building with 12 foot ceilings and hardwood floors.  One enters through huge, heavy wooden doors and then is buzzed through ornate iron gates, up in the antique elevator, buzzed through two more sets of doors.  I should have known this would cost me a boatload.   Heavy sigh.  Anyone know who would like to buy a nice, healthy kidney?  xxoo me