My morning drive to Killeen has been rather enjoyable lately. Granted it's not a drive that I make often, but when I do I get a chance to enjoy my music, a cool breeze, and the countryside. And since it's summertime, the road is well lit, even at 06:15 in the morning. I would have to say that driving on Phantom Warrior Highway is always the highlight of the drive. Minus the 2 lane highway and always getting stuck behind an 18-wheeler. But for over 3 years now I've been telling myself I need to take pictures of certain scenery. I hope to follow through with this soon enough.
After passing through Florence, TX, I noticed a massive rain cloud blocking the sunlight. At that moment Come un sole che sorge by il Nucleo started playing on my iPod. And when Andrea sings "...meravigliosa sorgente di luce" is when the sun started to shine through the darkness with such splendor! It was so perfectly timed, so well orchestrated, that I started to smile. Paying more attention to the lyrics and having the sun follow me, peeping in and out of the cloud, I began to tear up. So here I am driving with tears in my eyes, singing at the top of my lungs, and basking in the glory of a star that sits approximately 93 million miles away!
Now the ending of this song is one that I really enjoy. "Sono un sole che sorge! Un'altro piccolo sole che sorge..." and as I'm singing these last couple of lines the sun is to my right and reaffirming the goodness present today.
So this positive, energetic feeling got me thinking about Roma and hanging out with the band. My anthem for that summer was Sospeso. It was my introduction to il Nucleo, and come to think of it, it might have been the rest of Italy's introduction to the band, too. July 4, 2003, I was scheduled to travel to Firenze with some classmates, but instead I stuck around Roma for work. I was in much need of some me time and loçkë had gone to Kaçanik for a quick visit. The week prior I had spent my afternoons visiting the different music stores looking for their album Meccanismi. Everyone I asked knew nothing about them or didn't have it in stock. I finally decided to visit their website and look for the actual release date. I saw that instead they would be playing inside Messaggerie Musicali on Via del corso! I was super excited about both being able to see the band live and the fact that this was taking place on Independence Day!
I had asked Rose and Nevin if they wanted to join me since they stayed behind, too. And when I got to the store I was alone. The crowd was scant to say the least (less than 20 and that's a stretch) and my friends ended up showing a little late, but they made it and helped the turnout look a little better. The band came out and Rose and I were amazed at how beautiful they were! I was so mesmerized by the music and how they played and how they were dressed and how they acted. I was In LoVe! After the set I went and purchased their CD and contemplated on having them sign it. I was nervous and shy and it took some coaxing, but Rose made me approach them for their autographs. I opened with, "Sono venuta dal Texas solo a vedervi!" Texas was my foot in the door. Andrea and Marcello exclaimed, "Ah, Texas!" and Marcel began to talk about a Houston experience. After taking pix and getting the autographs, I walked back to Rose and Nevin and stood star struck for a moment.
I noticed that all the hub bub was dying down and the band was still there. I felt invincible and asked Rose and Nevin if I should ask them out. "It couldn't hurt," was Rose's response and Nevin agreed. So I summed up all my courage and approached the band. I asked if I could buy them a drink and to my surprise they were more than excited. We walked down to Trinity College and enjoyed some drinks, we talked about their experiences on their small tour, Texas, music and Andrea made a remark about being in Roma for the first time. I was taken aback and offered them a tour of Rome called "Roma...by Night" which uncle Mario had taken us on our first night there. Aunt Suzy's boyfriend was excited to practice his English and his night tour included 5 people crammed into a tiny white hatchback driving at lightning speed along very narrow roads to see some historical sights...by night. Just thinking about it makes me smile. We walked EVERYWHERE! La Fontana di Trevi, Piazza di Spagna, Piazza Venezia, Piazza del Popolo, Largo Argentina, il Colosseo, il Foro Romano, Mussolini's balcony (Andrea did a great impersonation), Via Veneto (Little America), Via Condotti, Piazza Navona, Trastevere...everywhere! We ended with Trevi and threw in some change to return to Roma one day. Gosh, those ragazzi really made that Independence Day memorable and it's nice to know that they haven't forgotten about their #1 fan dal Texas.
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