The Best Kind of Praise

The unsolicited kind.  Like when someone stops you in the street, claps you on the back and says, "Well done!"  Out of the blue.

That's what I got today.  At a time when I sure as hell need a big old metaphorical clap on the back.

I got my little shot of sunshine, to shift metaphors, as I was nosing around the blog of my Veronese friend Lizzy (wine journalist Elisabetta Tosi).  I saw a reference to mondosapore by an Italian journalist, Nicolo' Regazzoni, whose name I did not recognize.  He wrote in the trade publication Bargiornale:

"L'autore vive a New York, e i post sono alternativamente in inglese o in italiano. I temi affrontati sono tra i più vari, e vanno dalle degustazioni alle cronache di viaggi, senza tuttavia perdere di vista il mondo dell'enogastronomia italiana. Per i blogger italiani e statunitensi, Terry Hughes rappresenta una sorta di "ambasciatore" del vino tricolore nella Grande Mela, al quale rivolgersi per chiedere lumi su una materia che conosce bene".

"The author lives in New York, and his posts are in both English and Italian.  He covers all sorts of topics, from tastings to travel diaries, but always with an eye to Italian wine and food. For Italian and American bloggers, Terry Hughes is a sort of ambassador of Italian wine in the Big Apple, and he sheds light on these things he knows so well."

Lizzy also told me that he had referred to mondosapore as "veloce come un adolescente" (fast-moving as a teenager, more or less), which she assured me was a compliment.  I liked the "ambassador" part, a designation perhaps inspired by Aristide.

This, friends, was just what the doctor would have ordered.  If he hadn't already prescribed something else.

Thanks from the heart.

Comments

[Fredric Koeppel]

Hey, you deserve the light, the pat on the back... and not metaphorical.

[Giampiero alias Aristide]

I'm with Fredric.
Compliments and ciao!

[Terry Hughes]

Grazie, grazie, boys, I needed that.

[alex]

Terry,
in Italian we say: chi semina poi raccoglie (the one who saws then harvests).
Congratulations!
alex