Earlier today, I did a show at Country Village Home, a beautiful old farm house that has been an assisted living facility in recent years. I had been scheduled to do a show there twice earlier this fall; the first time I had to cancel for a funeral, the second because I had a cold. finally, today I was able to keep my commitment, and I'm so glad I did.

The show was really strong, and the audience loved every routine. Unlike nursing homes, the people in assisted living have no dementia, they just need someone available to help with medical things that may arise in the course of their day. This means they all understood and appreciated every part of the show. Most of my accompaniment music was hymns: "When the Saints Go Marching In", "Come All Ye Faithful", "Crown Him with Many Crowns", and "the Hallelujah Chorus". The audience recognized all of these, and several sang along.

I prayer especially for a meaningful message, too. While the stories are always the same, I can tell when they've been presented in a way that really connects with the crowd. That happened today. Several of the residents told me what a blessing and encouragement the show was to them. One lady approached me after and quoted the Bill Gaither song, "Jesus touched me, he touched me, and oh what joy has filled my soul. He touched me and made me whole."

I need to confess, though, that there were a couple moments when I felt kind of old. First of all, after the show, the son of one of the residents approached me and reminded me that we met at a show at a church in Westbrook, Maine in 1989: 25 years ago! While I didn't remember him, I remembered the show, probably because the church met on the second floor of the Westbrook library at the time.

I could find comfort in this story because the guy remembered me, and I could take pride in the fact that I've been doing this show all this time without compromise. But the next thing that happened just made me feel old. Period.
After the show, the staff put on some music for the senior citizens. These are people in their 70's and 80's. They live in an old folks home. And the first song on their "old people" CD was "Winchester Cathedral". The next was the Archies' "Sugar, Sugar". Are these really old people songs? I remember listening to them when I was a kid. Geriatrics singing along to the Archies??? Alas, it's true.

At least my show went well.