Kid Entertainment

Due to schedule conflicts, I have not been able to play at a children's hospital that I used to visit. I miss playing for children, though. I miss how their eyes light up when they see an instrument they don't usually encounter. I miss how they gasp and puff up their cheeks out of excitement when they hear a Disney song they recognize. I miss the expression on the parents' faces when they see their children forget the tubes on their little bodies and the pain (physical or emotional) they were crying about just a while ago--even if just for a few minutes.


As we roamed about yesterday on a general floor, we came upon a room at the end of the corridor. I stood outside as my guide went in to ask the patient if she would like to hear some music. "I already heard her next door," she said. "So it's okay." That meant no, and we respected that. As we turned around to go, a little boy came out of the room, a popsicle in his mouth. "I've never seen that before," he told me, pointing to my violin. "That's cool." His elder sister came out of the room, too, and the two of them just stood there, wide-eyed.

"Can I go with you when you play for somebody else?" he asked, a silent "pleeeeaase" in his eyes. "Me, too!" the sister chimed in. "I don't think that's such a good idea," my guide replied. "You see, we are going to another floor now." "Oh, man..."

I looked around the corridor. It was dinnertime, and there was a lot going on: nurses going from one room to another, visitors coming in in packs, and some patients taking a stroll with their I.V. poles. Nobody would mind or even notice a little concert at the end of the corridor for two little kids, who were both fascinated by a beautiful instrument, and at the same time, terribly bored.

"Okay, one song, right here. How about a Disney song? Guess which movie this comes from."

"Yay!"