Dad Sings

As promised, the excerpts start here.

"He loved new technology and gadgets and I could see he was impressed by the capabilities of my I-touch, although at times he seemed a little confused by what it was doing. I showed him a few of the features, calendar, Internet access, before I remembered that I had music on it, too. Music being one of Dad’s great loves, I thought he might enjoy hearing something melodic.
As I scrolled through my albums wondering what he might enjoy, I stopped on Somewhere Over the Rainbow, sung by Israel Kamakawiwo‘ole, a weighty and much-beloved Hawaiian singer and ukelele player. This is a great song, soothing and lovely and I thought he would probably recognize it. Choosing the song, I held the machine up to Dad’s ear and heard the first sweet strains of Israel’s ukulele. To my surprise, Dad started singing along with the music; he sat, eyes unfocused, face peaceful, singing out of tune and obviously copying the words he was hearing, every now and then concentrating to make out or remember a word. I caught the eye of another woman there visiting her aged mother and we smiled at each other, each aware of the other’s purpose in being there, sharing a moment of understanding. I sat there, entranced for the length of the song, treasuring this quiet moment with my Dad as he enjoyed the music and found his voice once again."