Club house recollections

There is a club house here in town where I go and sing. The folks there have mental health challenges and most of them do not work. It is hard to say where they would go during the day if they didn't have a place like this to go and play cards and hang out.  They are such an interesting group of people. When I first started going there  (2 yrs ago),  most of them regarded me with skepticism. Some of them openly laughed at me when I tried to sing for them.  It was intimidating. But over time, I gained their friendship and trust and it is one of my favorite places to play now. Here are some snapshots of things that happened today that gives you an idea of how it is for me there. I usually sing in a common room and in between songs, talk and visit with the folks there.

One man who stands about 6' 5" appears to be an intimidating person on the outside but he is kind and affectionate to me. He always runs up and hugs me and gives me things. Today he gave me a big cup of coffee with lots of sugar in it, a bag of popcorn and a Pepsi.

There is an Indian woman who sang in Hindi as I accompanied her on my guitar. I have no idea what she was singing but the tone of her voice and and key seemed a match for what I did. The group around us all seemed pleased and laughed with us after each song.

Another guy and I talked about ways we are staying out of trouble. He asked me when was the last time I got into big trouble. As I paused to think about this, he laughed and threw his arms around me and hugged me a long time. Then he gave me a kiss on the cheek. I am not sure how I earned that, but it was a nice moment.

Then there is J. who  has the appearance of a rough and tumble kind of guy with a tattooed face but he is very sweet to me. He was giving me tips on how to make money gambling by buying tickets to the lottery.

In between these conversations were songs of the Beatles and requests. All in a days work. I smiled all the way home.