The Experiences of Steven

A Story About Dad

I’ve talked with Dad about power of attorney. He seems to understand the importance. It’s not fun discussing the man’s situation with him. No man wants to confront the notion that he might sometimes need help. This is just part of the stupidity that comes from being male. Somehow, someway, we all believe that we could find a way to be victorious in any situation no matter how unsurmountable the odds are. At ninety-three, he is having to accept certain realities that must be a really downer to think about, including our own mortality. Still, we’re getting it done.

He’s really an interesting man. A WWII veteran, an accordion player, a singer, and a dancer— he retired from Stix Baer & Fuller in Crestview MO. I’ll share a story about him here in a bit. It is one I was telling to a friend just a day ago. His response made me realize the significance of the story even though it’s a short one.

It goes like this—

Dad was the accordion player and lead singer in a band called the Starlighters. There was also a drummer, saxophone, and trumpet player in the band. They played very old songs that wouldn’t be popular today, yet from time to time Dad would incorporate something a little more contemporary into his repertoire. I remember him practicing his own version of “Achy Breaky Heart.” He also played “Just a Gigilo” which at the time I thought he had robbed from David Lee Roth only to discover the song was much older than that. I just thought it commonplace for him to bring present day music into his act.

Well, this story is related as my mother related it to me. As old as my dad is, from time to time and for various reasons his band members changed. Now Dad’s band has since broken up as the members where getting along in years. But he’d played in that band for as long as I can remember. As child I recall a trumpet player named Elmer who happened to be blind.

According to Mom, Elmer was not always blind. He learned to play music before he lost his vision, but as a result of blindness he was no longer able to learn new music. He couldn’t see the sheets you see. So my dad one day decided to help Elmer. He went to Elmer’s house with his accordion and Elmer with his trumpet, and by playing one note at a time on his accordion, which Elmer then mimicked, Dad taught Elmer new music that he otherwise couldn’t learn. Mom said that Elmer’s wife, Betty, was very grateful to Dad for being so thoughtful and taking so much time to help Elmer learn new tunes. I suppose after a lifetime of being a musician, losing your sight but finding a way to play new music must have been really magical for the man.

Anyway that’s the story. I think it’s an interesting one. Hope you do too. I’ll write more later as things progress with Dad. Maybe I’ll even pump him for information so I can add more stories like the one above.

Thanks for reading.