A father and son ( and Dorothy)
We had just finished a ninety minute set. I was drenched, wiping my brow a blue terry cloth towel. Amélie had performed selections from her wedding set and we had debuted a new sing along song. One of the residents had two visitors that Friday afternoon, his wife (who often shows up) and his son, whom we had never seen before. As we moved our way around the room the first couple of times the father seemed to barely notice. He just kept working with the board of small devices in front of him. I tried to make eye contact but he was beyond my reach. I could see the heart-broken disappointment in his son’s face as he watched. Then, on our third time around, while we were playing the new song, everything changed. The father’s piercing blue eyes sparkled with recognition and a smile came over his face as he sang with us. The son saw the transformation and reached out to his father as tears of joy rolled down his cheek. In that moment the energy in the room sparked with electricity. Everyone felt it. We didn’t want it to end and just kept on playing until we were completely exhausted.
After we finished packing up a nurse asked us if we would stop by a resident’s room on our way out and sing happy birthday. Dorothy had just turned ninety eight. Although her body was frail, Dorothy’s mind was sharp as a tack. Amélie pulled out her fiddle and we sang Happy Birthday. We spent the better part of an hour with Dorothy as she told us all about her years working as a principal and how much she loved helping children learn. Then the nurse returned and it was time for us to go...