The feelings that Rich has for his Nina is more than I can pretend to understand. It is profound and leaves me resigned to simply watching him and learning about some of the most important and nourishing emotions that a person can experience in life. There is a beauty in his devotion to his Nina that I admire and in a way I envy. The human tendency to avoid pain is powerful, pervasive and something we grapple with every single day of our existence. We would rather avoid the pain of a being rejected by a person we love than to risk having what might mean our happiness. The world is full of unhappy people living life with regrets after not doing what they should have done or said what they should have said. Yet, Rich’s affections have never wavered. I know that he has never doubted that he will spend the rest of his life with his Nina. He just doesn’t know when. Every morning he wakes up in the morning, looks in the mirror and with a smile he tells himself, “Maybe today is the day that I will have my Nina”.
That evening, I met with Ricci, the Italianate version of my friend Rich. “I have eh discover’d a beautiful song that I wish eh to sing to my Nina. It is called eh Conte Partiro by one of my faavorit singers Andrea Bocelli. In English it eh translates to “I’ll go with you” because Nina and I go perfectly together like a wheel and a tire in a macchina. It is the Italian word for a car. She is the beautiful and shiny wheel. I am the tire protecting her from the hot and rough roads of life but always together in our journey. Unfortunately, always it is the tire that is the problem – those very bad eh flat tires on the side of the road that eh make my Nina late for eh her appointments. Espesyally eh the ones she made eh with me.” His eyes sparkling as he says this. “But I will eh a try my best to be always be a tire that is strong and hard for her”.
The song I will sing is eh like my heart. It is full of promises to my Nina that I have never told her yet. Then, he brings out his karaoke and plugs in the microphone. Sound check 1-2-1-2-1-2-1. Okay, good. Ready? I nodded. Then he said, “Please, close your eyes eh and listen to the sounds eh of my heart.”
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That evening, I met with Ricci, the Italianate version of my friend Rich. “I have eh discover’d a beautiful song that I wish eh to sing to my Nina. It is called eh Conte Partiro by one of my faavorit singers Andrea Bocelli. In English it eh translates to “I’ll go with you” because Nina and I go perfectly together like a wheel and a tire in a macchina. It is the Italian word for a car. She is the beautiful and shiny wheel. I am the tire protecting her from the hot and rough roads of life but always together in our journey. Unfortunately, always it is the tire that is the problem – those very bad eh flat tires on the side of the road that eh make my Nina late for eh her appointments. Espesyally eh the ones she made eh with me.” His eyes sparkling as he says this. “But I will eh a try my best to be always be a tire that is strong and hard for her”.
The song I will sing is eh like my heart. It is full of promises to my Nina that I have never told her yet. Then, he brings out his karaoke and plugs in the microphone. Sound check 1-2-1-2-1-2-1. Okay, good. Ready? I nodded. Then he said, “Please, close your eyes eh and listen to the sounds eh of my heart.”
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