Crescentius - Purple Collection 10 (Times Square)

One night while Erika was in Houston's MD Anderson attending to her mother and I was Orlando, the phone rang and it was Janis. This was about 6 July or so, at about 3 AM. We knew at this point that her cancer was terminal and that it was a losing struggle. Seeing that name on the caller ID was a bit like seeing a ghost. I knew that the medication was making her disoriented, but I answered and she asked to speak to Erika. I told her that Erika was in Houston (with her) and tried to give her E's cell number. I asked her how she was doing and she said she was doing great and they were having a blast. She said they were going to go to Mexico next week. I burst into tears and said 'Wow, that'll be fun.' She said she thought so too and she couldn't wait to come back to Orlando so we could go to Disney again. She said I gotta go; and I said I love you.

That was the last time I ever spoke to her. A few days later she lapsed into a coma and never came out of it.

I flew into OKC on 27 July and went straight from the airport to the hospice where she was. I hadn't seen her in about a month, in which time she had swollen from fluid retention so much as to be almost unrecognizable. It was hard to see someone suffering so much.

Either that afternoon or the next day I went to see Bridgewater play at the Red Cup. They played this song for me and tears welled in my eyes. I will always remember that as one of the most meaningful moments of my life as a music lover.

Times Square is just that one song that never ever loses its edge, never gets predictable no matter how many times you hear it. It's from a post-peak Marianne Faithfull live album but is the most divinely inspired song I've ever heard. I have a lot of favorite songs, but this one is the Sistine Chapel.

Bridgewater's version is the definitive one, but it has never been recorded so here's Marianne Faithfull: