As Hannah graduates from high school, and I leave my job and prepare for another spin through the MIT machine, I thought it would be a good time for an adventure. To wit, our Children’s Crusade: Hannah begins in Paris, and I in Tuscany with Ruth. We meet in Rome, the eternal city, and ask for the blessing of the Pope. Then to Venice, acquiring supplies and knowledge from their wise merchant men. Then over the Julian Alps to Ljubljana, then Sarajevo, Dubrovnik, Zagreb and parts between. Then to Istanbul where we shall dine by the Hellespont, astride two continents. Then my fair sister will leave me, as I fly to meet Jared in Amman, then to Beirut and back, and across Palestine, finding what trouble we can along the way. It will be a voyage for the ages, and it shall all be chronicled here for you, dear reader.

I depart on the wings of the Irish, to Dublin on Aer Lingus then to Rome on RyanAir, this Saturday the 14th of June. I return two months hence, on the 20th of August, to dress my wounds, tell my tales, and prepare for two more years of school. Until then, adieu.