“Partirà, la nave partirà…”

Oh what memories of youthful expectations of travel to unknown destinies, pondering where we would all end up, these few words of a chorus of a famous 1970 San Remo Festival song conjured in the Dillon siblings’ minds…

To this day, the mere singing of these few Italian words makes my siblings’ and mine eyes sparkle with mirth and we break out in peals of laughter. Go figure.

This summer, we ended up singing the song more than a few times, laughing at the thought that the boat had finally hit more than a few rocks, but what a trip it had endured.

There is something cathartic about indulging in foofaraws. And I still find Sergio Endrigo, the Italian crooner, transports me to happy times.