Hey Flight Crew, I’ve missed you, and I’ve missed writing for a little while. The guys have been in such demand both in Italy, and then here in North America, that we all have been desperately trying to keep up. Sometimes it gets overwhelming! I can’t even imagine what they go through. Correction, I can imagine, and we love them for it. Ugh! By the time this is posted, my concert recollections will probably sound pretty old hat, and redundant; but I would like to share them anyway. Many of you had an opportunity to see them in person again, or maybe for some it was the first time; but truth be known it doesn’t matter how many times you see them, you will begin anticipating the next one right away. The guys, are the guys, and never try to be like anyone else. They don’t need to. They are, how the Lord intended for them to be, and that’s a big part of why they are so special to us. This was my second concert, but it really seemed like the first because before, we were so far back I really couldn’t really see much of anything. I definitely didn’t have any problem this time; and this time was my first M&G. It just so happened that a sister Flight Crew member, Barbara in AZ, managed to get the seat right beside my son and I. I think it may well have been the last one available in that section. She and I had e-mailed a couple of times prior to obtaining tickets, but when I actually purchased ours, I contacted her and she said she had just gotten hers as well, that same day. She told me her seat location and number, and I shouted “Barbara”, that’s the seat right next to us—3rd row orchestra! OMG! What were the chances!! —- FAST FORWARD—sooo, now here we were nearly 7 mos later, nervously awaiting the moment we had been anticipating for so long. After greeting one another, we managed to settle down in our seats. She sat quietly, while I, on the other hand, could not sit still.
I kept looking over at her, wondering why she was so quiet. Almost trance like. (It’s okay, she knows what I’m posting). This went on for all of half an hour or so, when suddenly a very recognizable tune began playing, and the anticipation of what was going to happen next became almost unbearable. The lights were out, and I turned to her again and said, “not yet, it will still be another minute or so, this is only the introduction.” I don’t know who I was trying to calm, her or me, but I’m pretty sure it was me! She, still sat quietly! I’m thinking; wait, did I do something? Did I step on her toe? Then, all of a sudden, Gianluca began singing, in the dark, and I knew, I JUST KNEW that,…. and then the spotlight shined directly on him; and there he was. My hand flew up and covered my mouth, in awe of this gorgeous young man standing right in front of me. Wide eyed, I turned once again toward Barbara, and she turned toward me at the same time, and we just stared at each other. Didn’t say a word. As my attention returned to the stage, I became aware that one little tear had found it’s way free, and it began running down my check towards my hand…… I didn’t bother to wipe it away, the idea somehow seemed like it would be a disrespectful thing to do; after all, Gianluca had earned the gallant effort put forth by that little tear, just appearing to honor him.
Seems silly I know, but was it? Then, it was handsome Piero who had taken his place in the center of the stage, sounding as powerful and confident as ever, and my son’s face brightened with a smile of approval. A very surprising, and out of character response from him. He was impressed to say the least!
And then, and then…. (sorry Marie),.. it was Ignazio’s time to shine. As soon as the spotlight illuminated him, my other hand joined the first one, to double the attempt to stifle whatever utterance might be loosed. My mind was telling me, BREATHE Kitty, YOU HAVE TO BREATHE, but there was no breath to be had. Ah, but there was a surprise! Barbara looked at me first this time, with both her hands placed similar to mine, over her mouth, and with our eyebrows arched high, and our eyes opening almost beyond their capacity, we shared a wide, partially hidden, but not to be denied, grin.
Ignazio, as always, walked across the width of the stage as he sang, but when the song was finished, he ended up right in front of us, waved and said “Hello”, flashing that wonderful smile. Needless to say, we didn’t waste any time in returning a “Hello” of our own. For the next 2 hrs, we were in heaven, or someplace darn close to it. Barbara really was okay, even though she sure never took her eyes off the stage after that! Give you one guess why that was, but I won’t tell! Of course, the entire show was fabulous; emotional, easy, free, funny, and whatever other complementary words you could say! We knew it would be It always is! —- The show has ended, and now we set our sights on the M&G. Once again the nerves shifted into high gear, but we sat down, and revisited our favorite happenings that the guys had provided, and watch the crew that was dismantling the set. My goodness, that’s a whole different type of artistry. Wow! – It was a rather long wait, but worth it; at least what I remember of it. No surprise there! What I do remember is Gianluca’s beautiful smile, and his wonderful, willing, and honest hug. In fact, he didn’t even wait for me to come to him, he stepped out of line and came to me, with outstretched arms. When he walked me over to where the other two were, he tapped Piero on the shoulder, letting him know I was there; but Piero was still occupied with someone, so I got just a quick little hug.– Ignazio? …he was already waiting! Oh boy, in more ways than one….What do I do, what do I say? HELP!
…. Did you know that Ignazio has very solid abs? Yep per! Okay, go ahead, ask me how I know that! Hee Hee! I know you’re curious! I know that because as I was apologizing to him for not having the gifts for them that I had planned, because I didn’t get them done in time, I followed by asking if I could mail them. As he was answering me, I suddenly realized that all the while I had been speaking, I had also been tapping my finger on his tummy! Wait, worse than that, I was still doing it!
A Gasp! Remember that red shirt that we have always liked on him? Well, that’s the one he was wearing! My one fingerprint was on it now, numerous times over! “Don’t wash it Ignazio, just send it to me!” Don’t ask me why I was doing that,.. but it was nice!...I mean, good, very good! I mean…..oh, never mind! However, that may explain the rather apprehensive look on his face, when I finally looked him in the eyes. In spite of feeling silly, I had to chuckle to myself., but “No worries Ignazio, I’m harmless”. ( I just can’t breathe ) At least, he may not forget me for a while! I just haven’t decided if that’s a good thing, or a bad thing. Next, and not a moment too soon, I had the privilege of meeting Eleonora, Caterina, and Barbara Vatali. Very nice ladies, even if they probably hadn’t understood a word I said. I expected that. What I didn’t expect though, was their warm hugs and willingness to interact with me, without hesitation. I was pleasantly surprised; especially after they had to have seen me manhandling Ignazio! I remember asking myself, “could I be as gracious in sharing my sons with the world?” After my truly unintended shenanigans, I struggled to answer my own question. As I reluctantly walked away, I felt a little sad that my special day was ending;
but at the same time, I had an even greater respect for how they present themselves, whether on stage or off. They are who they are; just three young men, using what they’ve been given and what they love, to just, maybe, make some small difference. Bottom line is, the night was filled with love, and visible adoration coming from a wide range of people of all ages; who have come face to face with “real”, what it looks like, and how it actually should sound. Definitely, smarts and talent have combined, and have made them undeniably worthy of the success they have achieved. They have caring hearts, a total understanding of respect, and an obvious command of the tremendous blessings bestowed upon them. Those blessings are honed to perfection, nourished, and built upon; and when the time is right, they are deliver straight to our hearts. We, in return, show our gratefulness by supporting them in whatever way we can. In addition, you can’t help but notice the reciprocation of affection between these artists, their fans, musicians, and those behind the scenes. Yes, you sometimes see indications of it in videos, but it is a “beautiful” thing to actually witness. There is genuine love and caring in play all around them: it stands out, and warms you inside. Beauty in itself, as I see it, is not something that can be defined by an absolute. There are no known, or written criteria for declaring something as “beautiful”; it’s different from person to person. We’ve always heard “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”, and that’s true; what one person “feels” is beautiful, may not be considered as such by another; (THE KEY WORD HERE is “FEELS” ); because the perception of what we refer to as “beautiful”, has more to do with how our inner being, our heart and our soul, has responded to certain moments in our lives. When we, individually, refer to something, someone, or perhaps an event or experience, as “beautiful”, we do so because of how we felt inside at the moment of that experience. A particular emotion had been touched. What’s the term…a warm and fuzzy feeling? So, we can’t credit our so called intellectual abilities with deciding what “beautiful” is. It’s not a matter of intellect, it’s a matter of the heart These incredible entertainers have been given everything needed to reach the deep and dark spaces that we all have inside of us. They bring the light, and uplift our sense of well being; and to me, that translates into something I refer to as “beautiful”. We benefit in ways that I know to be true because I hear your stories. Stories not unlike my own. Yes, we care about them. We absolutely do. We care very much! They are our “beautiful” gifts.
Geeze!!…Hope I didn’t bore you with all of that, it must have been closer to the surface than I thought. ANYWAY…. I’m thinking it’s time to get back to “Kitty’s Kibbles”, so I’ve reviewed my listing of researched topics regarding Italy and Sicily, and I found it to be very lengthy and wide reaching. My intention was to start in Northern Italy and end up in Sicily, but since it’s been a little while, I would have to revisit each item with a map in hand, for far to long. I have already posted several articles in the past about Gianluca’s area, so we will be visiting Sicily first, to honor Piero and Ignazio. Subjects will be random, but I hope interesting, and maybe we can enjoy some extra fun along the way. Because of all my rambling above, we will begin our travels, trivia, and who knows what, in the next posting. To our newest crew members, we are happy to have you joining us. As you can tell, we do things a little differently here in how we share our Il Volo love So….
and welcome aboard!
Ciao for now, KITTY ( I love saying that! )
