A Wild Ride!

At one performance, I learned that you're never too old to go on an adventure. I was talking to one resident about her interests, and she explained that she enjoyed music, tennis, and travelling. She in fact explained that she and her husband often combined the two, and they had recently gone to Florida to play tennis with a friend of his.

As she was a big traveler, I asked her what her favorite trip had been. She told me that last year, she went on a trip with one of her girlfriends to Kenya. She explained that they went on a safari, on which she had a frightening experience: one night, while they were sleeping in their tent, a man with a gun entered. They awoke, and were terrified that he was going to attack them. But he turned out to be the local park ranger and was merely warning them not to keep any food on them. The next morning, she found out why, as she and her friend saw both a lion and a cheetah. It was a terrifying experience, but it goes to show that you're never too old to go on an adventure!

Finding Humor in History

One resident told me that when she was 5 or 6 years old, both her father and grandfather were bootleggers during Prohibition. At the time, she wasn't allowed to ask about their work, for obvious reasons. And when she found out about her father's activities, she felt really ashamed that her family was breaking the law. However, looking back, she actually thinks that it's pretty funny and cool that her father and grandfather were bootleggers, because not many people can say that they were related to the biggest outlaws in town! This just goes to show how time can really change how we perceive the same events. Here at Vintage Voices, we try to bring residents' voices out here so that we can really get these different perspectives on how life once was.

-Krystal Z.

Valuing a Veteran

Some people seem to believe that senior citizens are frail or hard-of-hearing or have trouble communicating, but as I have found with every visit we make, that’s not true. At a performance, I met a beautiful woman, who had served in the army during WWII. She is 96 years old, but will turn 97 soon. She explained that after her service, she continued to keep an active lifestyle: she regularly goes for walks, keeps up with the news, and votes in every election. She says that she is concerned with the direction that American politics are headed in, with all these wars overseas and economic hardship here at home. She says she’s not sure what the future will hold. I reassured her that while there are a lot of problems in our government and society, our generation is going to fix them, and I sincerely believe that we will--she and other WWII veterans fought some of the greatest evils in human history so that we could have basic freedoms and liberty, so it’s the least we can do. But we can also repay her and other senior citizens more directly, by casting aside stereotypes and preconceptions and just taking the time to meet and interact with them, like they're normal people. Because they are normal people. At Vintage Voices, this is what we do!

-Naeem Alam

Listening to life stories

I didn't have a specific story or encounter with a senior citizen during our visits to the senior homes. However, I have noticed that when talking to different seniors I felt like I was reading a different book each time. Books filled with adventures, love stories, challenges that were overcome, and reflections on life. Each person had their own stories and wisdom. One senior citizen said she did not like listening to Hound Dog by Elvis Presley. You see, her husband was from Memphis, Tennessee, and she and her husband were about to buy a beautiful house property. However, Elvis Presley beat them to it! Another women talked about the love of her life, her husband, who she had been married to for 25+ years. She told me that the secret to a long, happy marriage is that (1) You have to be crazy in love with the person and (2) You have to be open-minded and not one-sided thinking. I love listening to their stories and I love hearing their wisdom. They have lived life and I am hoping that I learn from them and apply such knowledge to my life.

-Crystal E.

The story of how unlikely things do happen

At our performance this weekend, after we had finished singing I went around to talk to some of the residents who had just heard us sing. Usually after the performances, I’m a bit shy to go around and talk with people mainly because I’m not sure if they want to be bothered talking after sitting for half an hour to forty five minutes watching us sing. But I reassured myself that it they would find it just as interesting as I would once we start talking. Looking around the room I spotted a woman who hadn’t talked to any the performers and sat down and introduced myself. As we began talking about the performance I asked her questions such as “What was your favorite song” and whether the songs brought any certain memories back from her childhood. 

After formalities, I asked her a little about herself. Being a college student, I was curious about how real people got careers versus what you might hear about the penultimate college student getting a huge job right after they graduated. She told me that she had gone to community college but moved back to her parent’s house afterwards to find a job. While working at a grocery store nearby, she randomly bumped into a federal employee who was currently working at the Air Force. As she told me, seemingly from out of the blue, he said she should try to apply for the position of secretary in his department because he thought that she could fit well in the department he was working in currently. So she did and she got the job! The main takeaway I found reassuring from this story was that as long as you keep on setting yourself up to obtain these opportunities, they will keep appearing.

Spreading joy, one vintage song at a time

Take a stroll down memory lane as we share joyous, magical moments with residents of assisted living and skilled nursing communities. Vintage Voices sings at these communities and donates iPods with nostalgic music, and here are the reactions - in addition to the residents reminiscing their favorite memories, sparked by their favorite music!

Want to help spread the joy and magic? Check out our GoFundMe: http://gofundme.com/vvipods2017

Thanks for your support in spreading joy, one vintage song at a time!

Sock Hops and Movies in the 70s

There was a lady at our first performance who told us about life back when they were kids, in the 70s. I asked what they did for fun. She said sometimes they would go see movies. They would also spend a lot of time talking on the phone, and she remembers her mom scolding her, “I don’t know how you girls have so much to talk about!” And also, every Friday, their high school would hold a “sock hop”, a dance, in the gymnasium. They called it a sock hop because they made the kids take their shoes off, so they wouldn’t damage the floor of the gym with all that dancing. She also said that, sometimes, for fun, they would go drag-racing on a nearby highway that was under construction. I don’t know how they got in, but they did!

Stay tuned for more updates and stories from performances!