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Home > Nick Taddeo
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If you have not met, let me introduce you to Nick Taddeo, a great friend. We met years back, teaching in Los Angeles. Nick taught English while I taught mathematics, probably the two least popular subjects in the curriculum. So we had a lot in common right off.
But few of us are one thing or another. Nick is also a car buff, writer, student, and traveler. He does a good deal of the latter on foot, by car or truck, and by bus, train, ship or plane. Any transport available is welcome. So long as it helps him get to a place of interest, a place in which he can learn even more about who we are as people.
This is his primary interest, particularly the whys of what we do. And, of course, he asks such questions of himself. Through the years, he has found many answers. And he continues his search for more. A serious student of history, sociology, psychology, and anything that can provide insight into the human condition.
Nick was writing when I met him. And he continues to this day. While his stories are seldom mainstream, each is insightful, positive, and upbeat, for this is his view of things.
Perhaps Italians are more keenly interested in their cultural heritage than most. I can't say. But Nick remains fascinated by his own, and has spent a good deal of time in Italy, from which his recent ancestors emmigrated not so long ago.
In "August In the Mind," Nick shares much of what he has discovered about Italy and its eventful history. And he speaks with the delightful authority of one who has mastered his subject. In between and tucked in around the edges, he also shares a good deal about Italian family life.
Nick still lives in Pasadena, California, in the same apartment in which he lived when we met. It is not a grand palace, simply comfortable. And conveniently located to take full advantage of the dynamic that is Los Angeles. To Nick, I think it is less a place for living, than a point of departure to another place that provides a better view of the world and the people in it. --- Bob
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It was while riding north on a train through Italy that Nick became fascinated with the castles perched on mountain tops such as the one shown here. It was that trip and the feelings that emerged from such images, that triggered his book, August of the Mind. -- Bob
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While the cities of Italy are as modern as those in any other country, the hillsides and byways seem to cherish much of the old ways. Here's one upon which Nick strolled in getting closer to his own roots, and gathering insights which would be key elements in his tale. -- Bob
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Techie Note: The scans of the photos Nick sent me did not come out well. I took the liberty of heightening the brightness and contrast to make some details show a bit more clearly. And there is loss in this. Because many such winding streets of cobblestone, centuries old, tend to be ever-shadowed from the sun. -- Bob
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