March 16, 2020

“Ma il cielo e sempre più blu”. This song by Rino Gaetano was one of the first Italian songs I fell in love with. I distinctly remember playing it for my parents in Asheville, NC and them not quite getting it. I tried to explain to him that Rino Gaetano was like Bob Dylan. I understood maybe 30% of the lyrics back then but the song still gave me goosebumps. How fitting is it that in Italy this is one of the songs on the lockdown docket. Standing on my porch watching all my neighbors sing in unison the lyrics to the song (which I now understand at least 90% of and can sing along to maybe half) gave me goosebumps too.

Here in Italy, this quarantine, this moment in history is bringing us together. Really, it’s bringing us together as a global population. I continue to find myself in a state of pensive optimism. Yes, staying inside is scary and daunting. Yes, not knowing what the future looks like is frightening. But it’s giving us all a moment to do something I’ve been working on learning for years: Just. Stay. Present.

Reflect, reimagine, review our lives. I am so proud of my adopted country for coming together, for singing, for sharing moments even from a distance. Italy, you are a dream.