Amazingly, no-one in Motovun reads my writings, all of which are readily available on the World Wide Web. And for free. The same is true of Istria entire, as well as most of Croatia. Nearly nobody reads English in these parts, with a possible exception of a few weirdos in Zagreb. But I am not complaining. Far from it, as a matter of fact. From my vantage point, this is no less than a boon. If my writings were available in Croatian, they would irk almost everyone I happen to know. To my joy, English is a shield of mine. Which makes my daily life on top of the Motovun hill quite relaxing. No matter whom I meet in the street or in one of the watering holes visited by locals, we babble about anything that crosses their minds without ever venturing into topics of real interest to me. And this is very to my liking. Actually, I am delighted to remain a total and complete mystery to my friends and acquaintances in my hometown and homeland. Whence this tribute to the language shield that protects me from discomforts of all sorts. Gosh, I love my elective tongue! Looking back over nearly half-a-century, I am truly fortunate. Even more, privileged!

Addendum (May 26, 2025)

About a month later, I have a definite proof that my language shield is a godsend: no-one from my hometown or homeland has contradicted my claim so far. I did expect a few such feedback messages from friends and acquaintances in Motovun, Istria, and Croatia as a whole, but I have received not a single one. Zilch! To wit, my language shield is as good as impenetrable. And this is how things will remain in the foreseeable future, I am pretty sure. Perhaps, just perhaps, there will be some reactions if and when my writings are translated into Croatian. Luckily, chances of such a turnaround are pretty close to zero. Why would anyone translate such deplorable junk? Hooray!