John's Biggest Wish

--by philster, posted Aug 28, 2007

John's biggest wish was that his Mom could come hear him sing.

My ex-partner was an excellent pianist and would play weekly at a local lounge. He would set out 20 books and encourage the patrons to choose a song to sing as he played. One regular was this man named John. At first, he can appear cold and stand-offish, but today, we've become best friends!

John has a voice that could easily be recorded on CD and sold. He's one of those unsung talents. And because he always wanted his mom to hear him sing, I tracked her down over the Internet and planned a surprise for John!

On John's 34th birthday, we went to a nice restaurant for dinner. I went early to set up the table with Kermit the Frog tablecloth, plates, napkins, balloons and had a version of "Rainbow Connection" -- my favorite song -- playing when he arrived on a CD player with some small speakers. The staff was wonderful, as they really got into this little surprise.

The other thing I did was to found out who was working that night at the restaurant and then create a trail of envelopes. So he first got an envelope that said, "Go see Joe the bartender," who would then give him an envelope with the note, "Go see Jill the Server". He spent 20 minutes running thoughout the restaurant -- it was so much fun! -- and the last envelope told him to return to the table where there was a final envelope with a birthday card and roundtrip ticket for his Mom to come and hear him sing!

John and his mom worked out the details and sure enough, they finally heard John sing! What a treasure. Not only did John's mom bring her other son, but she also invited a close friend in the city whom she hadn't seen in years! At the lounge, I did another little party with a cake and balloons -- you could just feel the happiness. John and his brother were able to dance with their mother and spend quality time together.

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Posted by philster
Aug 28, 2007
Comments (6)

Readers Comments

AURELIA wrote: Philster, That was a touching story. How nice of you to help John reconnect with his mom and brother! You are a good friend and a "treasure" too. ~Aurelia

hurricanelaurie wrote: I wish I had a friend that would think of me like that...you are truly blessed. Thank you for sharing your story.

hurricane =O)

pacots wrote: What a wonderful thing to do, everyone could use a friend like you.

Swift wrote: Wow Philster. helping to share the gift of music is just part of the wonderful thing you did for your friend. I would love to have been there to experience the joy of family coming together!

tigerlily wrote: Incredibly thoughtful! What an uplifting story. Smiles for you! :)

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