Ansel lined up another children’s hospital gig with Musicians on Call in Philly. I found the place after some false GPS directions and made it inside and we headed off to the Intensive Care unit. The first stop the grandmom asked for a gospel song which took us by surprise, but should not have been, seeing how folks are calling all kind of support for these kids. I came up with Down by the Riverside. The tiny girl’s toes were tapping and her eyes gave us some feedback. One mother cradled her daughter as we sang a gentle tune and sang to her softly.
We traveled to the cancer ward with some older kids amongst the patients. Some of the kids responded with smiles, some had no idea what we were doing, but some folks got into it. One family said they had never heard harmonica like Ansel’s so he did a classical piece that knocked us all out. And one little boy just loved what we did and continued to wave to us as we walked down the hall.
It was a tough gig, especially for me having to stand a lot, so it is physically draining as well as spiritually hard work. It’s all worth it.