Written on June 13, 2012
This gives me joy every time we do it, and today was no exception. Nearly every month, I go with members of my church choir to a local assisted living facility where one of our former choir members is a resident. He looks forward to the visits, and usually sings along with us, as do several of the other residents. We sing favorite hymns and patriotic songs, or Christmas carols - songs that the folks love and remember. I have seen for years what researchers are now reporting in scholarly journals - musical memory is one of the last parts of our brains to leave us. I have seen folks who have long since forgotten their own names and those of their families. Still, they can sing familiar songs, often in more than one language. It is remarkable. I have read the reports and understand the physiology to some degree, but it still is miraculous to me.
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