Can you honestly count as a friend someone you only see twice a year?

How close are American gated communities to idea of  the Epicurean garden,  where people can live among those with like interests, enjoy tranquility and live without fear?  Or are they in fact divisive signs of a breakdown of social cohesion?

My wife and I recently went on a walking trip in rural Tuscany.  Were you to ask me to name the highlight of the trip I would respond by telling you about the silence. We are daily assaulted with noise: cars, planes, musack, pop music, ringtones.  And even comparative silence is accompanied by background hums, …

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