Bobbie, I know exactly what you mean. Every Saturday morning in the winter and about once a month in the summer a group of us Oak Park area musicians play at the Oak Park Arms which is an old folks' home. They have a great sitting room which is ideal for acoustic instruments and we have a regular fan base there of folks who absolutely love it when we come out to play for them. It really is my favorite place to play acoustically, and bringing happiness to the old folks is a great joy to me, as well.

We have been playing there for about three or four years, now and have seen a few of our favorite people come and go in that short time. Recently, a gentleman named Jimmy Burton passed away, but he loved coming in and listening to us. He was a jazz and pop singer from the 40's and early 50's and some of his recordings were put on a cd where we had a chance to listen to him. He was a fabulous singer, with a warm tenor voice.

We were there playing one time on the same day that a lady had just moved into the home that morning and she was terribly upset about having to leave her home and move into a managed care facility. Her aide brought her in to listen to us play. She was crying when she came in and thought her world was coming crashing down, but by the end of our performance she was smiling and becoming comforted to find that the facility was a really good place with people who really cared about the residents. She is a regular attendee now and she settled in nicely. I can't help but believe we helped in making the transition a little easier. I know this a long post for this topic, sorry, but I echo Bobbie's earlier post, so my paraphrasing her sentiment is:

Success is bringing joy to anyone, but especially the very young and the elderly.



Last edited by Jack Swain; 01/06/08 08:11 PM.
Jack
http://www.myspace.com/jackswainsongs