Well, I did learn the perseverance part! It helps to be an optimist. :-) If you'd like to read more about them, there is a nice historical bit at THIS SITE Scroll down and click on Tradition.

Today's gig went well. An old lady came out and sat in a recliner. She apologised about no one coming out to listen. I told her I didn't expect them to and that it was fine. We visited quite a bit and best of all, I knew some of the songs she knew, so she hummed along! She had a beautiful voice. I also have a couple of new ones to work up, just for her.

She was very straightforward about being there; she has stomach cancer and was given 6 months to live, 3 months ago. She knows she will be there for the duration. Very gracious, polite, and accepting of her situation.

She told me a wonderful story about her brother, who died last Fall. He had called her and begged her to come out to see him, as they knew he was dying. It cost a lot of money, but she decided she just had to. When she arrived, he was in a terrible state. No one could get him to settle down, he couldn't sleep or get comfortable in any way.

She was there by 9pm that evening. She started rubbing his back, just a soothing, over and over gentle massage. After about an hour of that, she asked him if that was enough. He said, "Oh, Ginny, it's never enough!" So, she rubbed until 1130pm, at which point he was completely relaxed and able to go to bed.

About 2am, his wife come into Ginny's room and said he had passed on, in his sleep, no struggle, no strife, just slipped away.

Ginny and I had a wonderful discussion, after she told me this story, about therapeutic touch and music thanatology. She knows, now, if she wants music when her time comes, I will be there for her. What a beautiful woman she is.

I also met the Volunteer Coordinator, Vickie, who was suprised and delighted that I was there. Seems she has about 75 volunteers, but only one who does music, the flute player on Mondays. She'd been thinking she needed to do something about it, so when she found out my plans to be there every week, she said it was "meant to be." Nice to get that validation and SO MANY people do NOT know what a lap dulcimer is!! I am having a blast just introducing everyone to it, staff, patients, and families. Hope I get some recruits out of it!

One other thing about Vickie, that I was delighted to find out: She's been to a couple of workshops, in NYC and elsewwhere, which had presentations by music thanotologist's (ones with degrees from uni)using harps and was quite taken with it.

Thanks,

kat