4/19/15 day 1: PHX>JFK>MXP

Somewhere over the vast green patchwork of middle America's farm country, I put my pen down. The crossword puzzle in the in-flight magazine had sufficiently kicked my ass. I got all the easy ones, the low hanging word fruit if you will. And had made some pretty good strides when I just hit a wall. I quickly became tired (and a little emabarassed... Did my neighbor just scough at me?!) of looking up 'hints' on the solution page (i.e. cheating). "Oh, I'll just look up this one and then I'll stop." Yeah right...Deep down, I honestly didn't want to turn to page 93 for even one little, harmless hint. I mean, what's the point? You don't know it. You lose. Go through the alphabet. And no, "ONCA" is not a word... in any language. Try again next month on your flight to Salt Lake for the "Inarticulate Jerks of America Conference." Keynote speaker is Johnny Smarter Than You.

Who completes these things?! 30 Down "#1 Michael Jackson song about an 11-across." Three letters, first one is "B." If you said "Bad" you are WRONG like me... The correct answer for all of you who know nothing of popular music (and who apparently hate America AND freedom) is "Ben." What the hell song is that?? The 11 across was "Rat." I thought it was "PYT." I thought I was brilliant! Made sense in my mind; "Bad," a song about a "PYT".... if Michael was calling himself a PYT... And um, wait, hold on.... (Flips to Page 93..........) I'm writing a letter to the editor...

Ah, forget it. I'll just look out the window and burn my retinas from the glare of the sun on the clouds... At least I'll still have my sense of taste for all the amazing food I'll be eating in Italy. That's right crossword. You can SUCK IT!

(First stop JFK)

3 hr delays aren't terrible if you can find a nice spot to hole up and refuel and refresh... I found a nice little BBQ joint and took a load off. How do I look? I don't feel tardy...

Had a decent flight. Watched a movie and then had maybe three hours of sleep. Had some snacks and had a hot cup of Joseph and felt about 80%, surprisingly.

 Sunrise.

Dropped below cloud cover and you know, if you just looked at the immediate landscape it might be somewhere in the U.S... Then you see the little red roofed villages and then off in the distance the alps (or are they the Dolomites?) just loom and you realize you are far from home. Welcome to Monday, a new day.