Influences: Valeria

Val at a Roman "temple turned church" ...Assisi, Italy.

The saying "Behind every great man, lies an even greater woman,"  is especially true in the case of my wife, Valeria. Now by no means do I claim to be a "great" person, but I would definitely think that without her, I would be a completely different person.

A few words to describe her (but in no specific order): Beautiful, intelligent, caring, passionate, insightful, hard-working, strong, patient... and honestly, the list could go on and on. She is like me in many ways, and different than me in numerous others. She will talk with about how incredible the human body and its functions are, chase our dogs around when they want to play, and listen to me talk about art in the museums... There is not a day that goes by where I do not thank the circumstances that led me to sit next to her in some dark corner of an English pub, listening to drunk people do karaoke.

She has been very supportive in things I want to do, especially in the circumstances that led me on this path, and the reason why I even have this blog.

So a big thank you to my wife. I hope everyone gets to know someone the way I know you.... and if you are reading this, Val.... Thank you for being my best friend.