All Roads Lead to Rome

After two weeks of sailing the Mediterranean, it is so good to be home again. Not that we didn’t have a spectacular time, for we did indeed. But as always, we missed family and friends, and desperately need a regular routine—especially having been inundated with all the lavish, ubiquitous  cuisine for which cruise ships are notoriously known. I will surely get the booby prize at Weight Watchers next week for the most weight gained in 14 days.

From Barcelona, Spain to Casablanca, Morocco,  to Funchal, Portugal, and a brief midnight spotting of the ship that went down a month ago, we thought Tenerife in the Canary Islands was the most spectacular; that is, until we had our last three days in Italy. We had been there several years ago, but this time I was there to give a speech. As a member of the International Federation of Speakers, I was so excited to be invited to speak in Rome, Italy! However, I must admit, I was not prepared for the status of the event.

For those of you who don’t know who I am, I retired from teaching high school and serving  as an adjunct university professor, to be a full-time TV and radio talk show host, and a professional motivational speaker. Sometimes through our church, I am also a part-time missionary. Add those last two together, give me a platform, and you may never get me to shut up. But oh boy. will you be on fire and praising God when I  have finished.

Alas, I was invited to speak at AWAR, The American Women’s Association of Rome, an  organization in Rome founded by Clare Boothe Luce in 1955. I must say when my husband and I had taken the hour-long train ride and taxi to the most affluent part of Rome, we were both a little intimidated. The restaurant was new, but housed in a beautiful old hotel nestled among the Italian hills. The organization who invited me has 300 members all of whom had been “transplants” to Rome. Among them are the wife of the U.S Ambassador to Italy, a German Diplomat’s wife, a vineyard owner, a well-known decorator and designer, an artist, actress and model. They asked if I could deliver my speech first while they sipped wine. In twenty-five years of speaking professionally I have never been asked to present before the luncheon, with 45 minutes of the audience sipping the choicest of Italy’s vineyards.

Thankfully, flexibility is my strong suit, and I had throughly done my “homework” on the organization. My wonderful husband and manager, Bud, who was the only man present, was a bit delayed in setting up my Powerpoint presentation for me. Amongst much hugging, schmoozing and cheek-to-cheek kissing of the beautiful ladies, he seemed to be moving a bit slower than usual. Nevertheless, I opened with poetry while they sipped wine and they were impressed that I had coordinated their philanthropic work through the years with the places where Bud and I had traveled. We were able to show where we had actually been to many of their projects , schools, orphanages, and homes in Africa, Mexico, Peru, China, Thailand, and many other places they support and we have visited. I told them of our previous trips to Italy but that this would be a highlight to meet and interact with such dignitaries, celebrities, and influential women of Rome.

When my presentation was finished, the president of the group opened it up for questions. The  last question  asked about the importance of the spiritual road  that led to my own success.  I saw my husband Bud roll his eyes and say, “You asked for it!” After 20 more minutes of a sermonette similar to Tyler Perry’s at Whitney Houston’s funeral, I found myself signing copies of my autobiography I had brought for them, while they wiped tears and some even asked for prayer. They gave me the most beautiful coffee table edition of the history and culture of Rome and all signed it for me – as if it were a high school yearbook. Then my husband took them one by one in the next room and had them deliver testimonials about me so he could use them as references for future international speaking.

But after a delicious luncheon punctuated by baklava for dessert  and more bottles of wine, the culmination of the event just “happened.” The teacher in me came out again and I wanted to hear all of their own stories one by one, complete with their origins in the U.S. and how they came to live in Rome. Of course by now we had already been there four hours and we just couldn’t seem to say ciao. So I suggested they each write a brief synopsis of their “story” and give them to a retired professor and author at our table, and then she could proofread and edit as she would pass them on to the young mother there who constructed their website and of course one of the ladies was married to a publisher. Before we had to catch our train back to the ship, they were already planning their upcoming publication of All Roads Lead to Rome. I told them I deserve the first edition as they hugged us and they promised it would be so.

Having just received an e-mail form the president, thanking me again and asking for a copy of the poem I wrote for them, I smile to think that perhaps once again this had been one of those “divine appointments.” I told them I would indeed see them again when we return one day. After all, our roads did indeed all lead to Rome. The final stanza of the poem I wrote for them was:

Thank you for welcoming me my dear friends,

here to your new second home;

As you share with others, may God bless you,

in the Eternal City called  Rome!

Dr. Debra Peppers, a professional speaker for 25 years, is one of only five inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame, which followed her retirement from Lindbergh High School. A member of the National Speakers Association, she has traveled to all 50 states and 60 countries teaching others that if she can go from being a 250-pound high school dropout, to Teacher of the Year there is hope for every child and adult. Her web site is www.pepperseed.org.