All so very true. Let's face it, most of us are 'getting up there' ourselves and none of us knows how long we can continue to do this. As Tony just said, we really are blessed with this talent, and this is exactly why we should rock till we drop and bring some light into our audiences' lives, however fragile they may be. Keep up the good work, guys.

I always felt that no matter what age your audience is you should ALWAYS give 150% when you perform no matter how you do it to make them have a good time.....Happiness is AGELESS!

Hi Bill

I must say I was inspired by your blog on that nice thing you did for that lady. You are a good guy and we (planet earth) need a lot more people like you.

I played at a RED CROSS Christmas party in Dec 2011 for senior citizens in my area and I got so much fulfillment and joy looking at these people having a ball. A 91year old lady got up to sing a song and she was great fun, particularly when she put the mic to her ear( as in telephone) to sing.

Keep up the great work Bill, you are setting a fine example for us all on the forum.

Great story Bill...and obviously a very moving experience for both you and Mary.

New Years Eve, I donated some playing time for a local drug/alcohol recovery group...very rewarding, plus I had a great time.

Keep up your good work.

Ian

Great story, Bill. I know your feeling about doing that. In my few years doing this, I've foud that talking with the folksa after the job is as rewarding as playing; they thirst for that connection to somenoe.

Taking a little turn here, this would have been a great situation for your voice and a Korg Micro Arranger. God bless you, good friend.

Great story, Bill. I know your feeling about doing that. In my few years doing this, I've foud that talking with the folksa after the job is as rewarding as playing; they thirst for that connection to somenoe.

Taking a little turn here, this would have been a great situation for your voice and a Korg Micro Arranger. God bless you, good friend.

Thanks guys...

I agree with many of the sentiments above. I believe with all my heart that this work, while paying the bills of course, has also given back to me ten fold. Patty and I have had, in some ways but no worse than what many of you have dealt with I'm sure, a pretty rough road the last ten years or so with our oldest daughter's mental health issues, suicide attempts and now drug rehab. There were plenty of days in that time when the only moments of a day, or a week that made any sense were those spent behind the keyboard and looking out at my audience. Every day a different group of walkers and wheelchairs, missing limbs, feedtubes, IV's hung and dripping, visible skin tears, the random grimaces (hopefully not related to my performance, lol...)not to mention the mind-blowing aspect that Father Time has tapped each one of them on the shoulder and whispered to them, "It won't be long..."

Mortality is some intense sh*t, boys and girls. I hope I'm half as together as some of these folks are. (I suspect pure madness will take over as some point and I"ll be the guy they can't bring to group activities for a variety of reasons, lol...)

Among the many gifts it gave back to me on a daily basis was perspective. We all have problems, worries, fears. It is among our most human of qualities to find relief among friends. For the time that I'm with them, they're the most important people in my world.

Thanks to all of you for reading.

I have been taken to task by some here for not finding a couple of hours a month to play at nursing homes or assisted living places.

Here's what I do:
* In the 2 hours it would take to set-up; tear down and play, I write an op ed piece on an aspect of nursing home reform that is picked up by 10 newspapers with a total readership of nearly 10 million.

* Or, I travel to the state capital to lobby for reform.

* I play one job a month and donate the proceedings ($250-500)to Kentuckians for Nursing home Reform.

In top of that:
* I'm a pretty good player, but a terrible entertainer...
just don't have the skills some of you have in that area.

* I spent 5 days a week in "for profit" nursing homes in the last 14 years trying to protect loved ones. Generally, the best there is are AWFUL (ever see ANY oral care in any place you've been in? You won't. Carefully watch the feeding process. That's generally a real eye opener).

Keep up the good work. I'm with you in spirit...I just have to concentrate my efforts on things I can do that maximize my effectiveness. To most marginal area nursing homes, I am "the enemy". They make me sick!

Russ Lay
Board Member: Kentuckians for Nursing Home Reform.