Shoving Off But Remembering Great Ones

Cheryl and I left our hotel in Rome about 10:45 a.m. today, and hopped aboard a shuttle bus for what was promised as a short ride of an hour. Unfortunately, there was a transit strike in Rome today, so make that 1 hour getting out of Rome, and it eventually was three before we made it to the port city of Civitavecchia to get on our ship, the Seabourn Legend.

The signs of excellence were everywhere from the moment we arrived . . . . the friendliness of the staff, the white glove service on check-in, and the stocking of my favorite alcoholic beverage ("Jim Bim" as they call it in Egypt) in our room, and a bottle of champagne, too!

If only my "Jim Bim" drinking partner, ML, were here to drink it with me. I did my best without her, though, and I was feeling no pain by the time we went a couple hours later to practice our emergency drill.

Suffice it to say that the passengers were paying rapt attention with the recency (and proximity) of the Costa Concordia disaster. We put out to sea about 5:30 p.m. and are headed for our first stop tomorrow at 8 a.m. in Portoferraio, Italy. Our excursion for tomorrow is Napoleon's summer residence and the village of Porto Azzuro. Should be wonderful, but dinner at 7:30 tonight stands between us and a visit to our favorite French emperor's digs.

Today is, however, a bit melancholy for a couple reasons. First, I am reminded of my dear friend, Marsha Tootle, who unfailingly let me know how much she enjoyed reading the blogs I write on our various excursions. And, with no comments back to our posts so far, I don't know if anyone IS reading them. We lost Marsha to a long battle with ovarian cancer last fall, and I know I would've heard from her at least a couple times by now. So, if you are reading - enjoying isn't a requirement - let us know. We miss everyone back home already.

Second, Levon Helm, 71, leader of the group The Band, died yesterday. And you ask, how is that related? The Band wrote and Levon sang one of my top five favorite songs of all time, "When I Paint My Masterpiece" from their 1971 LP titled "Cahoots".

It is a lovely song, full of optimism and hope, based on his experience many years ago in Rome. It has been sung by anyone who is anyone (at least in my book, e.g., Bob Dylan, the Grateful Dead, etc.).

So, caps off for lovely Marsha and wonderful Levon, and here's what he had to say . . . . .

Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble
Ancient footprints are everywhere
You can almost think that you're seeing double
On the cold, dark night on the Spanish Stairs

Gotta hurry on back to my hotel room
Where I got me a date with a pretty little girl from Greece
She promised, she'd be there with me
When I paint my masterpiece

Oh, the hours we spent inside the Coliseum
Dodging lions, and a-wasting time
Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle, I could hardly stand to see 'em
Yes, it sure has been a long, hard drive

Train wheels are running through the back of my memory
When I ran on a hilltop following a pack of wild geese
Someday everything is gonna sound like a rhapsody
When I paint my masterpiece

Sailing round the world in a dirty gondola
Oh, to be back in the land of Coca-Cola

Well, I left Rome, and landed in Brussels
On a plane ride so bumpy that I almost cried
Clergy men in uniform and young girls pulling mussels
Everyone was there to greet me when I stepped inside

Newspaper man eating candy
Had to be held down by big police

But someday every thing's gonna be different
When I paint my masterpiece