As a dear friend from Katie’s dance studio starts her journey to Italy today to celebrate the life of Antonio Pittorru with her famiglia on Sardinia, I was reflecting upon one of my traditions for the many times when I’ve had to make a similar journey.

I’ll often find a favourite album that speaks to me of the person who has left us and that’ll be my traveling music. I’ve often found that the bards will make a hard emotional journey a bit easier…especially those journeys that are necessarily taken alone. Not necessarily better or happier but a little easier to allow the mind and heart a chance to embrace the joy and beauty of music which is far more healing than any medicine can hope to be.

Even now, I can recall every last album or song I’ve travelled with. When my stepfather passed away two weeks after Katie was born, the “Star Trek II” soundtrack was what was playing on the Escape’s CD player as I was flying down I-40 toward Fayetteville. And when it got to the moment in the music with the heavy cello solo when Kirk turns round to look at Spock’s empty station and realises what McCoy meant when he said “you need to get down here” was the exact moment I felt his spirit depart. About two minutes later, my brother rang me to let me know I didn’t need to keep my foot planted to the floorboards…

For my grandfather Williams…it was “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Band” by the Beatles. That was what was on my radio when I felt him leave us and the Beatles (and that album in particular) dominated my listening for the next month. What most people would never know was that the Beatles were actually one of his favourite bands and I’d make sure to have some playing when we’d spend our times together in his Florida room. You’d never have guessed his love of the Beatles in a million years given his love of playing and singing gospel music. I’ll never forget the smile he’d give me when we’d make it to a track which was so obviously George Harrison’s…the “Quiet Beatle” was very definitely our favourite of the Fab Four! 🙂

And so even though I’m not making this journey today…WFOX has been glued to the “Yes” playlist for the last week or so and there’s an album of theirs that I’d make my traveling album for Antonio.

I had met him briefly at the dance studio and even in a few minutes you could tell his was a truly special spirit, full of life and love for all he encountered. He was a gifted photographer with an amazing talent and eye for showing the beauty one can find in this world and that apparently was what he was doing when he accidentally lost his footing and fell into Lake Como and sadly left us soon afterward. Even with such a brief meeting, how I’ve seen the world since has been forever changed for the better and for that I’ll be thankful always.

Now, I could go for the two most obvious tracks from “90125” which is the “Yes” album that pretty much everyone knows as it was easily their most successful commercial effort. And it’s a lovely album…but the one I’d travel with is “The Ladder” from the 1999 incarnation of “Yes”, particularly the first track “Homeworld”. The instrumentals are about as grand as you can imagine, especially the measures featuring a grand organ followed by a signature “Yes” guitar solo.

I think he’d have liked that album and that track in particular.

So for Monica and Antonio, WFOX would like to dedicate “Homeworld” to you with the hope that your journey be swift and safe and may you find peace and love all along the way as we will be thinking of you and wishing for your safe return!

https://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/yes/homeworldtheladder.html