It’s been a long time, months maybe, since I have been wanting to write about family. I do not intend to get in the specifics and polemics of what is a family, who composes it and so and so forth. Rather, I would like to talk about the influence of the family in our overall development. To do that, I will tell three stories you may not know related to three completely different individuals: the American singer and “Piano Man”, Billy Joel; an American fitness youtuber called Mari and a common Brazilian girl, a.k.a. myself.
One of my all-time favorite songs is called Vienna, by Billy Joel. What I like the most about it is how it was originated and, of course, its general meaning. When Joel was around the age of eight, his father separated from his mother and moved to Europe. 15 or 16 years later, after having to track his dad down, he arranged a meeting with him in Vienna. As they are strolling around the Austrian city, Billy sees an old lady sweeping the streets and, in shock, inquired how could that poor old woman be doing “heavy” work at such an advanced age. His father then explained to the twentyish and full-energy son that that lady still had a part to play in society, despite her elderliness. Joel was baffled by the concept of life “not-ending” after its first three or four decades and that completely shifted and shaped his perspective on how he should, would or could approach his professional career as a musician, as well as inspired him to write the song.
A little bit about the story of how “Vienna” was written.
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