Excerpt from PISA travel narrative:

Running late from the Tuscan road trip we run into the train terminal, hit the “fast” something ticket machine and sprint to find the track empty, having to wait another 30 minutes for the next train that is delayed because it is a local train and regardless of the country you live in, if you have a “local” train it is always going to be delayed.  Once we board it gets worse.  There is no heat, the people are loud and angry and HOT, and it is looking like we are going to miss our reservation to go up into the leaning tower.  As soon as the train starts, it stops.  Starts again, and then stops again.  It is getting darker which also means the “get a picture of the leaning tower like you are holding it up” may no longer be an option.  Apparently this is not an option for Beth as she is willing the train to keep moving.  Each time the train stops the conductor speaks something in Italian which leads to “Mama Mia!” chants and we can tell by the tone these are not good Mama Mia’s.  Going forward I will always associate the phrase “Mama Mia” with shit going down.  With seemingly everything working against us the story actually has a happy ending. 

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Excerpt from "The KEYS to LIFE":

We were to meet at the top of the leaning tower of Pisa.  Here he said he would give me the keys to life.  I don’t even know if they were actual keys or metaphorical keys, but it doesn’t matter because he’s not here.

I started off in Madison, WI where I go to college, from there I stayed in New York City with a couple friends and then caught a plane to London, my first time in Europe.  There I saw Big Ben and then took a train to Paris where I saw The Louvre and met a girl that I kissed and then flew to Rome, ate pizza and spent three days, took a train to Florence and hung out with a punk from Austria named James, saw the statue of David and now I am hear.  This is the itinerary the professor laid out for me.  The one he told me to take and that at the top I would be given the keys.  He is not here.  He is nowhere to be found.

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David S. Grant is the author of several books.  His latest, BLOOD: The New Red will be available 11-11-11.  For more information go to Click here.  Follow David on Twitter .david_s_grant