Now for those of you not historically inclined, the drawing at the left is a Roman Legionaire. Such as may have been found in the army of Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Major. "Who the heck is that," you ask? Well, let's have a little history lesson, then I'll tell you why I'm bringing this up.

Scipio (as he is fondly know by those of us old enough to have known him, (there you go with the age/brag thing again...ed!) "...was a general in the Second Punic War and statesman of the Roman Republic. He was best known for defeating Hannibal of Carthage, a feat that earned him the surname Africanus, the nickname 'the Roman Hannibal' and recognition as one of the finest commanders in military history." The man who took down Hannibal and essentially won the Second Punic War.

This little preamble is only because I was curious as to the origins of the name of the blog The Return of Scipio, authored by a charming gentleman and a new friend, Mike Austin.

I first came across his name in a comment he made on another good friend's blog Tim Birdnow who writes Bird Blog so I went to the link he provided and began reading. I sent Mike an e-mail telling him that I liked what I read and had added The Return of Scipio to my blogroll. Gracious gentleman that Mike is, he wrote back and we have been exchanging e-mails ever since. As Mike said "It is always cool to find the like-minded." Yes, it is indeed.

Mike is very near perfectly a true Renaissance Man in its positive meaning. He describes himself as

Teacher. Solo backpacker. Admirer of the Roman Republic. Devourer of books.

"Always I dream of Latin America, where I lived, worked, loved and walked for 14 years of my adult life.

"I am neither scholar nor theologian, nor am I particularly brilliant (no matter what my mom said). I like to write, that is all. I have lived too many lives, read too many books, seen too much of the world, taken too many chances and suffered too many fools—myself included. The results are here." [Note - and he is far to modest imho]

His blog is cogent, on topic with today's issues and full of interesting information about him, his career and his dreams. Good Stuff Indeed Go forth and read, add Mike's efforts to your bookmarks for some really enjoyable reading and be sure and let him know that you appreciate his efforts, even if you disagree with him. I've found very little (how about none bozo... ed!) to disagree with, a truly entertaining blog. Thanks Mike, long may our new-found friendship wave.

Posted at 09:07 AM | Comments (13) | Add Comment
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