before one sleeps…..

For some reason, the line from the Robert Frost poem briefly came to mind although it does not even come close to the scene of the photo of the street (Roman Holiday, column 3, photo 2).

Some of the streets were closed off to motor traffic and that was perfectly fine. Then again, how is it that we have become so dependent on motor vehicles – more to the point, the personal automobile? My aunt did not believe in driving while in Rome. The bus and subway were the safest way to travel. One took their chances when getting into a taxi.

One evening, while making our way to a theatre that happened to be showing “Born on the Fourth of July,” we took a taxi and made an interesting discovery in the fearlessness of some drivers creating their own lanes on the road – even if that included the sidewalk. Now one can understand why pedestrians were always alert and quick on their feet.

Getting back to the streets seen empty of cars – it was a nice scene to take in, and realizing that most all who had traveled along there had done so on foot, maybe by horse and a few with a cart. To see the pathways of the past still present, persevering from the contributions of the current creations in terms of pollution, etcetra, one can only wonder how long those roads will last.