Today's Tribune column: "Hassan in Pithion, 1985."

We approach the 25th anniversary of my first pilgrimage to Europe, which began in early May, 1985. Vignettes like the one recounted below, some of which first appeared in different form some years back in this blogspace, will appear periodically in Tribune column form throughout summer, 2010.

BAYLOR: Hassan in Pithion, 1985

There were valuable lessons to be learned from finding myself conversing with a Syrian traveling salesman during the hot morning hours of an aimless day in a tiny border town with more rail sidings and goats than humans.