Jim was born and raised in Geneva, New York.  After graduating from college, he moved to Washington DC where he worked with the Federal Government as an architect.  He took early retirement from the Department of Justice in 2003. When his retirement was approved, he sent a message to the staff that said “There is a rumor going around that I’m retiring. I want you all to know that it’s true and tomorrow is my last day.” 

Rod was born and raised in Greenville, South Carolina.  After graduating from college, he moved to Washington DC, and worked as a member of The United States Army Band, retiring from the Army in 1993.  He continued working as a school band director and finally retired in 2016.

They have been together for nearly 43 years after meeting in Washington DC in 1980. They quickly decided that the relationship was going to be something special and two months after meeting they decided that their cats should meet each other too and they should merge households. Jim still quips that Rod was the “one night stand who never went home.” They were married in Skaneateles New York in 2011. Upon Jim’s retirement and after 30 years in Washington DC, they moved to Placitas, New Mexico, where Jim used his architectural skills to design their spectacular retirement home in the desert.    

While enjoying New Mexico, in time they began to realize just how much they missed the urban life that they knew from their years in DC.  Also, after many years of discussing a possible move to a more urban environment in Italy, they made the decision to move to Lucca.  Five years later they are solidly settled into life in Italy.

Lucca

City in Tuscany, Italy

Quick facts

Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the Serchio River, in a fertile plain near the Ligurian Sea. The city has a population of about 89,000, while its province has a population of 383,957. Wikipedia

• County: Lucca
• Population: 89,346
• Altitude: 19 m

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