This is a story only benches can tell. But first I have to admit that this is the second Tuscany exception of having people on the bench post. However, with this bench it is all about that, it is about people sitting on the bench and get connected.
So, here it goes:
I was visiting Radda in Chianti with my wife and I was searching for a bench to rest while my wife was searching for shops. I found one (she too) just the next one on the street. I mean nothing special, you would probably expect more from a bencher. Just a bench on the shopping street to get a rest and escape from the shops.
So, I took a seat and a minute later Joe Louis came along and asked whether he can have a seat too on that bench. “Of course, that is not MY bench” was my answer. “Better be save and ask” was his reply, and before I could counter “don’t ask for permission, ask for forgiveness” we were in a discussion about his brother (more a walker than a bencher) and living in Tuscany since ever, about Joe Louis (more a bencher than a walker) living in New York City, Joe Louis’ summer house somewhere in the wilderness north of NY, Donald Trump (well neither him nor me wanted to talk about him) and so on…
Nothing “important” but for me it was one of those extraordinary moments you never forget. Thank you Joe Louis.
And here you go: Joe Louis in Radda, Chianti
…and together with his brother George, a famous painter. You can find pictures of him in the Kirkland Museum
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