A short while ago, Zlatko Ujčić jokingly introduced me to several people from Motovun who knew me quite well. “Rompicoglioni di Montona,” he chuckled and bowed toward me with panache. Everybody laughed, and I joined them, for it was clear this was meant as a compliment of sorts. In Italian, this expression stands for “ballbreaker” as coglioni are “balls” or “testicles” and rompere is “to break.” In English translation, it is usually rendered as a “pain in the ass” or a “pain in the neck.” That is, someone who is a nuisance to everyone or who causes trouble for no obvious reason. Predictably enough, the conversation quickly turned to my erstwhile struggle with the golf scam in Motovun, Istria, and the rest of Croatia. “Luckily,” I concluded my oft-repeated story, “the global financial crisis of October 2008 put an end to the real estate travesty in these parts.” There was much laughter once again on account of my modesty. Rompicoglioni, me? Three cheers for Zlatko Ujčić!