Soundtrack: Sicily

I spent a lot of time at ‘home’ in Taormina, because my apartment was spacious, I had groceries, and I had two terraces overlooking the greenery leading to the sea. I didn’t have any neighbors even, until the last two days of my stay and I only knew they were present because I could smell the cigarette smoke in the evening wafting up from their terrace below. So there was definitely some loud nostalgia music being played loudly - Shiver! Golden! FALL OUT BOY?!

My sister and brother-in-law keep asking me what I’ve been watching while I’m here and I’ve only watched: Human Resources (while in Bologna); one and a half episodes of Russian Doll, season 2 (Roccastrada); the A&F documentary (rainy Umbria); and an art forgery/rich people being supremely dumb documentary called Made You Look.

I’ve always gone to music when I want voices in the room and to decompress. We were so lucky that our parents played really good music in the house on those giant speakers from the 80s, and in the car. Like yes, there were Smooth Jazz times with Sade and Don Henley, but then that leads you to The Eagles who lead you to the Doors, who lead you to Janis Joplin who ends up at Laura Nyro. And we got to go to concerts! The Church of Bruce Springsteen, many times, with extended family and friends and boyfriends and people we don’t know anymore but we sang and danced together then.

Paige and my mom would be watching any movie they found on TV, Will and Dad would have baseball on in the kitchen, and I’d be upstairs in my room on the floor, listening to Tragic Kingdom on my Discman reading along with the liner notes. And I have vivid memories of wandering the yard on summer mornings in my luxurious ‘silky’ purple pajamas (100% poly) listening to Jackson Browne’s For Everyman on a Walkman. I wonder what song memories will stick when I listen back on these weeks in Italy.