COVID Memories
Friends, This will be the second of my new 2.0 Blog posts and I am pretty certain by now that you know that I don’t post anything that doesn’t resonate deeply with me on some level. Last week, out of the corner of my eye, I caught site of the whistleblower hearings discussing whether Dr. Fauci really knew about the source of the Corona virus and it triggered some pretty vivid memories of when Covid first hit us that I started revisiting many of them. My partner and I had just purchased the old 3Thirty3 location on Newport Harbor and were just starting to get our sea legs as Tavern House when all hell broke loose. The information on the nightly news about how it was spread was confusing and frightening. Everyone was wearing masks when out and about and even wearing gloves when pumping their own gas. Newsome told businesses to shut down, Gregg was out sick for an indeterminate period of time, and I couldn’t bear the thought of laying off 40 of our employees going into the holiday season so I opted to stay open, despite repeated threats that our liquor license would be revoked. Newport Beach supported us in spades, with and without masks, for which I am truly grateful for to this day. But today this post is about the most vivid of my memories of a young Italian kid who, in the midst of one of the most horrible shutdowns that occurred in Italy, found the inspiration to stand on a rooftop in a deserted Piazza in Rome, and play with his electric guitar one of the most beautiful songs every written by my favorite composer of all times….Ennio Morricone…Deborah’s Theme from the movie ‘Once upon a Time in America’…Italian flag next to him waving bravely in the wind. Having grown up in a household filled with music and with 12 years of classical piano under my belt, I feel confident in saying that, in my not always so humble opinion, Morricone was a genius among modern movie theme and song writers. His diverse and far-ranging works included soundtracks for Clint Eastwood’s ‘Spaghetti Westerns’ to the dark and haunting music behind ‘The Mission’ and some of the most beautiful love songs every written. You know…it’s about the human condition we all live in every waking moment but we get so caught up in just going through the motions we don’t remember to stop and soak in the beauty and glory of simple f’ing things that are right before our eyes and ears. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and could be considered by some to be living in the ‘drop zone’…although I don’t subscribe to that. No, I’d rather think it’s a part of my 2.0 awakening that feels the need to urge others to slow down and embrace the beauty that happens in our lives..(can you say Italians?) It’s there…you just need to learn to recognize it…it’s as simple as one kid on a rooftop who makes me cry every time I listen to him play this song to a stricken, confused and depressed city of everyday Italian people. I’m not sure if it’s because it’s such a beautiful piece of music or that this young kid had the vision to know that his City needed some reassurance that the beauty of their lives would some day return…I think it’s a little of both but God bless this kid. So be on the lookout for these soulful beauties that fall in front of you…call a damned time out in your busy lif…they are out there waiting for you to behold every day. Yes, some more special than others, but I promise that they will enrich your spirit and soul and in a way that will also inspire you to share these special ‘joy gems’ as I like to call them, with those in your life who are longing to share their gems with you as well. Written by Tino 1.0…(edited by David 2.0) Love and blessings to you all…
