When I was growing up in Italy, it was summer that felt like the end of the year not December 31st.

It was so hot in July that you would have thought that the world had come to a standstill.

Unable to sleep, my father and I would sit in the living room late at night, all windows open and the lights off, listening to Prince Igor. Longing for the cool air to reach us from the snowy Russian plains….

Summer used to be a time for pausing and reflecting on the future.

It was like being suspended in time, cradled by the unrelenting heat and the sound of cicadas.

I indulged in the same feeling last weekend at my parents’ house … only to be brought back brutally to reality at my return to London.

While I was slaving away at my desk yesterday trying to fight hay fever, I couldn’t help thinking of my friend in Verona. He shuts down his office in July and August. When I saw him on Friday, he was sporting a wonderful tan and radiating energy.

Is there something we are doing wrong in our manic, 24/7 business culture? This is the question a friend of mine was asking today.

I don’t know the answer but I do miss listening to Prince Igor.…terribly!

Photo: thanks to danielstephenjohnson.blogspot.com

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 at 4:42 pm and is filed under Travels. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

3 Responses to “Missing Prince Igor”

1. Daneeta Loretta Saft says:

   July 15, 2008 at 9:22 pm

   Yes! Definitely doing something wrong in our 24/7 lifestyle. We don’t take the time to just *be* anymore.

   I love when the power goes out. Then, there is nothing that you can do but light candles and talk in quiet whispers. This happened a lot at my grandma’s place during the spectacular Southern Louisiana thunderstorms. It would be hot as hell. Then the storms would hit, the electricity would go out, and we would sit on the screened in porch letting the coolness of the storm blow us into serenity. I’m going back home soon for an extended period. I can’t wait for the thunderstorms even though there is still the real threat of floods. But being in my native Louisiana again, watching the light show across the sky and hearing the thunder is something that will take me back to a simpler time…before I worked 24/7. When I could just be.
2. Dan Johnson says:

   January 25, 2009 at 2:53 am

   Thanks for the hattip! But actually I just ripped that picture off of Wiki Commons.
3. Silvia Cambie says:

   January 25, 2009 at 8:58 pm

   Thanks anyway, Dan