Wiregrass Seniors Magazine March 2018 APRIL ISSUE | Page 17

A Lost Man
WiregrassSeniorsMagazine.com
by Jeff Resnick
What an interesting community this was! Independent
living, assisted living, memory care, all housed in con-
nected buildings on a community campus. I was in-
vited to perform at their annual Christmas party, where
all residents and their families would dine in the large,
common dining hall. When I arrived to set up, the party
was already bustling pretty well. The staff had pre-
pared quite a spread of food and drink to accommo-
date a variety of tastes. Relatives strolled from table
to table, happy to see each other once again after a
year-long separation. I set up in the lounge area next
to the dining hall, so as not to disturb those wishing to
eat and talk without the intrusion of any musical dis-
tractions.
Picture
I began my performance in a different way, by neces-
sity. Since all the residents and guests were by then
seated in the dining hall, there was no one to tell corny
jokes to in the lounge! So, when the clock ticked 6
PM, I just began. By myself. As you might expect, it
didn’t take more than a song or two for stragglers to
migrate over to the lounge, where they seated them-
selves comfortably. One gentleman caught my atten-
tion right away. Frankly, he didn’t look as old as the
others. And he was dressed to the nines, as they say.
My first thought was that he was a business owner,
here to spend the evening with friends and relatives.
Soon, there were a few
dozen people in the
lounge. Listening.
Watching. Smiling. Talking.
A few even danced. A good
time for all. The gentleman
suddenly got up from his
seat and started looking
around the room.
Frantically. Looking for
someone. Or, something. He wandered away. Fol-
lowed, I noticed, by a nurse’s aide in uniform. As more
and more people ventured into the lounge, I used the
opportunity to pause my performance. A perfect time
to finally begin with my usual introduction! You know
the routine by now, right? Who I am. What I’m doing
continued on next page
Page 17