The power of music + the power of the human spirit
Here’s the story of my recent encounter with amazing musician in San Diego.
I had a job on Coronado Island, which is an incredible island (actually a peninsula) off of the coast of the city of San Diego. Since where I teach is on the way home, I decided stay overnight in San Diego and simply drive directly to where I teach the next day – saving me a good 2 hours of driving.
I had lots of time…all morning in fact, so I decided to take a walk in Balboa Park — which is yet another incredible area of San Diego. It’s a huge park with gardens, museums and a wondefrul planetarium. In the middle of the museums and planetarium is a beautiful mall with a huge fountain. Many people often hang out near the fountain, so it’s a great place to find an audience. As I rounded the corner of the planetarium, I heard some nice solo trumpet being played.
As I approached, there was an old World War ll veteran, sitting in a wheelchair just playing songs off the top of his head. He had a box for change and donations out, so I put a dollar into it, whereupon he asked me if there was something that I’d like to hear. He had been playing “I Only Have Eyes for Youâ€, so I told him to continue and I’d sing along. We sang and played the whole song together and at the end we talked for a spell.
Now understand: this guy was crippled, had a pacemaker and was 86 years old, but he still sounded great, and he had a wonderful attitude. Three days a week, he takes the little band which he has around to the local hospitals and plays for the bed-ridden – cancer victims, old people with failing health – and plays tunes for them to cheer them up. This alone is so very cool. What a giving guy. But he had a special story to tell which I’ll share with you:
Obviously, these people are often waiting to die, but are also bored out of their skulls, lying in bed all day with all sorts tubes stuck into their ailing bodies. He told me about how great it was to watch their faces light up when they heard their favorite melodies!
One time, an elderly lady requested that he come into the room and play for her old husband, who was in a coma, and would probably die soon. He started playing “Yes Sir, That’s My Babyâ€â€¦a huge hit song from the 1920’s. Do you know the old guy’s eyes popped open and he got up out of bed and started dancing? He danced around the room for the whole song, and then got back into bed. The next day, his wife told him that the old fellow had died, but she was so grateful to have seen him animated one last time.
That’s a great story to start you day with, eh? Life and music are truly miraculous things.