"If one person dies and a family is left mourning, that's sad. But if the whole town goes at once, it's O.K." - Maria Scoppa, 38, a resident of modern Pompeii, Italy, currently threatened by Vesuvius, which destroyed Roman Pompeii in A.D. 79. Neighbors of Vesuvius are staying put, despite the Italian government's offer of $30,000 a family to move away from the vicinity of the volcano. More from Ms. Scoppa: "I'm not going anywhere. A person could avoid being swallowed by lava, only to be hit by a bus. Everything's dangerous."

From a most engaging story by Frank Bruni in Tuesday's New York Times (registration required - there's also a wonderful picture of Vesuvius as seen from Naples).