Fado (upon returning)

Big Frank is back. He slid in on the back of the setting sun, and with wheels on the ground and bags unpacked, now it is as though he had never left. Except he did; and with trips there are the joys of seeing people long missed; there are partings; and there are returns and adjustments that come with that (hope - often unjustified - riding back with the traveler). Trips often end with some nostalgia, for the end of the trip, for the empty homecoming, and for the combination of hopes (met and dashed) that accompany journeys (coming and going). Last November Konrad and Big Frank went to Portugal and they both fell in love with Fado, a kind of Portugues blues that started in the early 19th century in . Fado means destiny or fate and and is typically linked to the nostagia felt missing someone. Here is a beautiful clip of Mariza (those who have her music are lucky and rare - at least in this country) singing one of her most beautiful and, for Big Frank, appropriate songs: Chuva ("Rain"). (The photo on the left is of Mariza.) The nostalgia comes through whether or not you understand Portuguese and if that still bothers you, just think of what the rain says to you when you think of what it is that you have lost in your life. The tune will stay with you forever.