I picked up a nice birthday party in the burbs of Whitehall for Saturday afternoon. It was for Aziz’s first birthday, and the parents knowing how much he liked music, they hired me. There was a good crowd of adults, babies, young kids, grandparents and too much food.

I set up in front of the fireplace in one of the rooms and started in. Aziz was amazing to play for. He was intently focused the entire time on my guitar, my voice and the songs. His eyes were acutely attentive, and, amazingly, he did not waiver his attention at all. He occasionally clapped along, and, at one point, crawled up to my leg, got to his feet holding on to my knee and reached for the guitar.

When I finished up, we all sang Happy Birthday to him while he stood on his mom’s lap. He simply beamed, taking in all the attention and joy in the room. It was quite amazing to experience.

Folks really enjoyed the interaction, including one early teenage girl who came out of her shell. At first, she didn’t want to be part of the little kids action, but into the first song, with a little encouragement jumped into the festivities. I found out later that I had played at her school so she knew who I was. Her reaction was almost as rewarding as Aziz’s.

Another good gig in the books.