`leave Papa alone!'

was the letter in my inbox yesterday from l.a. it's been nigh on...30 years since i've worn a baseball cap (read: never), but i think this specimen of the faithful has been hanging out in rome a little too long of late. look at the range of his trajectory!

Cocaine Traces Discovered in Roman Air, Pollution Study Shows
By SXG
June 1 (Bloomberg) -- Romans are living with cocaine in
their air, and in their noses, according to a report that found
traces of the drug in the city's atmosphere.
Parts of the Italian capital have a pulverized cocaine
concentration of as much as 0.1 nanograms per cubic meter,
according to the report, released yesterday by the Italian
National Research Council. The study also found trace elements
of cannabis in the air.
The area with the highest airborne concentration of cocaine
is near La Sapienza University, where ``consumption and dealing
of cocaine is probably most widespread,'' the report's authors
said.
``Cocaine has become a common pollutant,'' chemical
researcher Roberto Fanelli told Italian daily la Repubblica.
Fanelli was part of a group of researchers who found that the
equivalent of 4 kilograms of cocaine floats down the Po River
every day.
La Repubblica reported today that nine out of 10 banknotes
in Italy reveal traces of cocaine, though not all have been used
to ``snort'' it, the newspaper said.

p.s. bless benedict's oblivious red prada shoes.