Didn’t I just read this article?

Yesterday, March 4, 2014, in the “Arts, Briefly” column of The New York Times, I read a short piece by Elisabetta Povoledo entitled “Parts of Pompeii Crumble Under Heavy Rains”. The title and content seemed so familiar—as if I had read them before. There was a good reason for this. I had—in December 2010 and December 2011 and November 2012 and April 2013. If the Italian cultural and archaeological authorities do not take things in hand, I am bound to be reading the same story during or after next year’s rainy season.