a miracle, a friend, and a true craftsman...

This morning was a VERY special morning! I got to share coffee with two very cool peeps. On the left in the photo above is Antonio Bosco. On the right, his good friend Giuseppe Tragni.

Antonio is a true Italian Craftsman. He's been hand crafting upholstered furniture for almost 30 years now. When a new piece of upholstery is made, the first prototype is still made by hand by a craftsman like him. And, Antonio happens to be one of the best in the world!

However, this is not why this morning was so special. In order to explain why it was, I have to go back to over a year and a half ago when Anotnio and I worked together in Shanghai. In fact, many of the initial prototypes for my designs were built by him.

One morning he came to work, and over our first morning coffee he mentioned that "he's had the same headache for almost a week." I told him, "no problem I have some American aspirin with me, it'll fix you right up!" He took the aspirin but they had no effect at all.

Later that day he went to see the doctor. He did not return until the next day. In his hand was a copy of the brain scan showing a tumor next to his brain. He immediatly left China, and returned to Italy for treatment. Antonio is a good friend and we spent a lot of time together in China. And to be honest, I was really scared for him. I thought it was possible we might not be able to see him again. Things like this really make you pause and think about what is really important in life!

The really great news is, and the reason this morning was so special, after two operations, radiation therapy, and finally chemotherapy, he's well on his way to a full recovery. This morning we got the chance to share a REAL coffee, and laugh as we remembered all the times we shared together in China.

It's so important for us all to remember, that without good health, we really have nothing. This morning was so awesome! So great to see him again! To Antonio and his family...Tanti auguri e buon anno!!!