I took the train to Paestum today, a place I hadn’t been to in 34 years. When I first visited, in 1981, I was there with Martin Dent, who in those months I was running into with regularity as our itineraries seemed strangely synched. Later, we travelled together in Turkey and, as fate would have it, I’ve been able to keep in touch with him all these years as he lives in Santa Barbara. There are three 5th century BCE Greek temples at Paestum, the one in this picture the best preserved and one of the best preserved anywhere. It was a great day. The recent rains have fooled the plants: everywhere the grass is green and the spring flowers are blooming.