A special salute to Columbus, Italy, Italians and her Italian American sons and daughters. A pride of Italian heritage and culture on Columbus Day.
* Author: copyright Joseph p. Martino TRAVEL POET

Art and culture that nurtures and inspires mind, heart and soul.
Music, language and literature that that makes our spirit soar and Hearts sing with joy.
Scientist, explorers, inventors always challenging the frontiers of discovery.
haute couture fashion and designers.
home of the 2006 world cup champions, world class sports and athletes.
The beauty of her majestic cities, mountains, scenic land, lakes,
Rivers and ocean sea that captivates the mind,heart and naked eye.

Italian cuisine, wine and drink that teases the palate, the vineyards and olive gardens of tuscany that satisfy our appetite for fine food,wine and lust for life.
Hospitality and warmth of her people, that touches, then
Melts the hearts of people who come to visit her.

History, antiquity and teaching of the great saints of the church that gives us all a deeper sense
Of self, and who we are in life.

This is Italy, this is Italian and Italian American pride, heritage and culture on Columbus Day.

Copyright Joseph p.martino 2004 revised 2009 American author, poet, motivator, inventor, world traveler (1937~) Millburn, NJ

Thanks again, Joseph!

Great stuff.

And how about the fact that tonight’s attendance at the game was 106,033? Can you imagine that? I went to college at Monmouth University as did my roommate, who I watched the game with tonight. We were talking about it and there were more people sitting in that stadium tonight than have cumulatively graduated from Monmouth University since it was founded in 1933. How ridiculous is that?!

USC’s quarterback did a great job, as did the USC offensive line. And when you have Pete Carroll running the defense and inserting himself into the offense during crunch time, you can only expect the outcome that we had tonight. Not that the Ohio guys didn’t have an equally impressive outing – they definitely did. However, it appeared that their offense fell apart right at the end of the game, when it counted the most.

How great is college football?!?!

For example, one school stopped using trays in their dining hall so they would cut back on both water usage and purchasing detergent. They’re going to save $30,000 per semester just for that minor change alone.

Other schools are hiring undergraduates to do some of the minor jobs that hired staff used to perform and saving a ton of money doing so. Students are filling twenty five staff positions at a college in Memphis, leading the school to save about $725,000 annually. That’s certainly nothing to scoff at and it also gives students a “real world” working experience. I’ve always been in favor of putting college students directly in the real world where there are real deadlines and, what I believe, is a better learning experience.

Campus life is getting a bit dirtier as housekeeping standards are relaxed. Oberlin College in Ohio saved $22,300 by scaling back on window washing, and Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif., is power washing its sidewalks and windows once a year instead of twice. Carleton College in Northfield, Minn., is having office trash picked up weekly instead of daily, a change that eliminated three custodian jobs.

Hey – did the sidewalks have to be power washed twice a year anyway? I don’t think so. So, here’s hoping that other colleges learn from the institutions chronicled in the article linked above. In a perfect world, lowering a college’s operating expenses could – eventually – lead to a decrease in tuition. And that would certainly be something worth striving for at all colleges and universities.