This bit of whimsy was written with the intent of giving Robin and Kathy something that would be unexpected at the close of their otherwise respectable concerts. Quite ironically, the first few lighthearted measures were written on September 10th, 2001. After the horrors in New York City the following day, Robin called me up and made it clear that given the circumstances, it would be absolutely fine with her if I felt instead like writing a very serious piece. Thinking about it for a moment, I replied that no, I wanted to continue in this upbeat direction, perhaps as a bizarre antidote for my grief. During the rest of that stunned month, there were times when the television glared silently in the corner of my studio with its constant images of devastation, as I irreconcilably wrote these giddy passages.

I'm a New Yorker. I grew up in Manhattan and watched the construction of the World Trade Towers when I was a little girl. As those edifices tumbled from hatred 29 years later, I thought of the people of all nationalities who perished that sunny morning. But New Yorkers are resilient, and composing this internationally-tinged piece may have been my way of declaring that to best honor those who have lost their lives, the rest of us should live ours to the fullest extent, for whatever time we're given. Just as these musical styles slip suddenly from one to another, life can slip from one reality to the next. As Ram Dass said, be here now...