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Author: Michael P. Gerace
Somewhere on the Edge of Lake Trasimeno, Summer 2002
Elliot ran along the muddy shoreline with his lanky body bouncing up and down as he pulled his feet from the mud. It was his first time in Italy and his excitement had gotten the best of him. The suction on his feet slowed him down,
"Elliot, please stop," Pam yelled. "Put your clothes on." Exasperation gripped her face as her chest heaved. She could only take two or three steps before stopping to catch her breath. Her round figure sank too deeply into the mud to get anywhere near him.
Elliot ignored her. His bony arms flailed about like a toddler's as he ran.
Thirty college students stood back and watched their colleague run naked through the mud while his teacher plodded after him. They were supposed to get a little history of the largest lake in Umbria, but this was the highlight of their field trip. Pam's frustration grew worse because Ivy, the other professor there, had abandoned the group with another student just minutes before. She was as flighty in temperament as some of her dance students. They went up toward the road and crossed out of sight. A few students giggled about it because a rumor had spread that they went to smoke pot.
I watched from the far corner of the beach. An old woman who lived in one of the houses on the street walked down the dirt path behind me.
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