Woke up this morning to the news that my grandpa, or Buppy as we called him, passed away at 3 am. It was somewhat expected. We knew he could go at any time, we just didn’t know if that time would be tomorrow or 6 months from now. So Saturday I’m going to Massachusetts for the wake and funeral, at which I’ll be singing. It’s sure to be a sad and exhausting experience, one that I’m not really looking forward to, even though it will be nice to see most of my family. My grandma, Nanny, died just 7 months ago so it’s still really fresh. My mom and her 6 brothers and sisters have no parents now, just within the span of 7 months. My uncle asked us to send him happy memories we had of Buppy for him to make a part of the eulogy. This is what I sent him: My first musical memory is of Buppy’s famous original composition: Going for a Ride in Buppy’s Car (“RaTaTa) and it was probably the first song I ever learned to sing. I didn’t realize until after they died what a huge impact both Nanny and Buppy had on me musically. My earliest and happiest musical memories involved both of them.
I remember the story Buppy told me of how he and Nanny got together: He, a cowboy, took her, an Indian princess, from her village and they rode off into the sunset together.
I remember the few winters where Nanny and Buppy came to Florida for 3 whole months and Michaela and I, having grown up so far away from our extended family, got to experience what it was like to have your grandparents just a short drive away.
So, basically, this all really sucks and I feel really bummed now after writing this. I’m not looking forward to having to sing beautifully while fighting back tears and the cold I came down with last night. I also not looking forward to flying back Monday night and starting school and having to do opera auditions on Tuesday. I could really use some happy pills right about now.
