House Hunting for a Home for Yuri’s Music
The elusive House of Yuri Notes was to be a place to call home for his music—a place for the memorable moments of the past, present, and future. We sold his house in a flood zone in Roselle, where he lived and worked in a basement studio for twenty years.
When the Sun Goes Down in Neverland
June 16th was Yuri’s birthday. He would have turned 74, young enough to continue being the working musician that he was. He had a lot of music in him. Three years ago, on his birthday, he asked what had happened to him after the first vaccine-induced anaphylaxis shock ravaged his system to its core just as an earthquake uproots and traumatizes its bedrock.
Requiem and Repast for a Renaissance Man
Memorial Day is Opening Day of the summer season, yet for the past two years, Yuri and I spent the weekend and weeks following in the ICU. This year, on Saturday, family and friends gathered at a morning memorial service, requiem, and repast commemorating the 40th day since Yuri’s spirit and essence left his physical self, ultimately melding into the universe of our collective consciousness.
On Name Day, It’s All In The Name
Today is Yuri’s name day. May 6 is St. George’s Day. Name days, these traditional feast days, hold a unique significance as they commemorate a particular holy person, often a saint or martyr, and celebrate an individual’s given name. They are not just collective holidays marked by national calendars but personal celebrations
A Kinderhook Revival Reunion for Campers
It was Saturday night, April 25, 2009, when the band Kinderhook’s rocking revival reunion with the campers from the 1970s took place. Like the rest of the crowd that filled the Ukrainian Cultural Center in Whippany, New Jersey, I anticipated a night of returning to my youth during the Plast Scout Camp years in East Chatham, New York, a stone’s throw from their namesake Kinderhook Creek. That night, Yuri and I met. Eye contact.
Yuri Notes: Wake Me Up From This Dream
I am sleepwalking and still reeling from having to write the words that Yuri Turchyn departed this world peacefully in my arms on Sunday, April 14, 2024. Time of departure: 15:05. Sail away.
Standing on the Edge, Living in the Moment
Spring is in the air—rebirth, renewal, and a return to the garden. Having a birthday in Spring always gave me a breath of fresh air. A March wind cleansing, although at times the winds can be fierce, wreaking havoc
Three Years, One Day, A Lifetime Away
Three years, one day. On March 8, 2021, we took the first Pfizer shot—three years ago – that turned into a vaccine injury for Yuri, which upended our lives. We haven’t recovered.
Love Letters on Valentine’s Day
On Valentine’s Day 2011, Yuri released Love Letters, a CD that, through original music, told the story of our courtship, romance, and an unexpected present: marriage.
Rockin’ Pneumonia+the Boogie Woogie Flu
The Stone Pony, one of the world’s best-known music venues, opened its doors to concertgoers on Feb. 8, 1974. Like Yuri, a player on the Jersey Shore for fifty years, the Stone Pony is a survivor.
Dream Big With a Cup of Tea
Physical pain is very real; physical challenges can seem insurmountable, but I don’t need to add to it with thoughts like “I wish this weren’t happening” or “Why is this happening to us?” The past two weeks were a difficult time; I felt post-traumatic symptoms, Yuri still recuperating from recent events, topping it off with harsh wintry conditions and the deep, silent darkness before dawn.
A Forever Life Changing Masquerade
New Year’s Eve. The most memorable moment was when Yuri’s and my stars aligned and our crisscrossed paths across the universe finally met during the Viennese Masquerade Ball at Soyuzivka Heritage Center on New Year’s Eve 2010.