SUMMER CONCERT ON THE CITY COMMON

Many cities sponsor free summer concerts.  They might be anywhere and would probably look pretty much the same. The other night my city had a concert, featuring a wonderful band (not that pictured here).  Sitting behind people in folding chairs on the lawn in front of the bandstand one quickly realized the nearby audience were adults with special needs. Touching to me was the caring  in the way they looked after one another.  When one of the women had a seizure, a man next to her wanted to call the police.  A woman among them said, "No, I'll take care of it.  She doesn't need the cops or an ambulance."  Before we knew it an army of Fire Department personnel scooped her up on a stretcher and took care of her.  She was later seen strolling away from the Common with a woman friend who had been close to her.

When the band started to play, an equally fascinating show was put on by dancers.  In one corner, a matured  woman with a child's body danced with a middle aged man, doing the jitterbug as I remembered it from WW II.  When I asked a young man, 20-ish, to stop walking back and forth in front of the video camera, he was wild-eyed and kept looking at me saying, "Stop!  Stop!" in a desperate voice.  As soothingly as possible, I said, "Thank you for being thoughtful".  He stopped walked in front of the cameraman again though he continued a circular route, mumbling to himself that he must not walk in front of the camera..

An older couple in lawn chairs got up to dance.  The white-haired woman.had a lovely tanned body but staggered to walk.  She and her husband danced smoothly and she staggered back to her chair with a limp.  One third of the brick 'dance floor was taken over by less than 2 to 7 year olds whose bodies clearly responded joyously and most actively to the beat of yesteryear.  Pre-teen girls danced together swaying their tiny, undeveloped bodies as sensuously as they tried to imitate their elders.  A young and a much older man who appeared autistic in their movements stood right in front of the band and rocked left and right, in place, through several songs. Moms and Dads danced with their toddlers.  It was nothing one would have seen in a Club.

The music was wonderful, a superb band of great musicians who usually played for wealthier and older audiences, misleading people to think that young people wouldn't enjoy this music.  The moral:  Music is music; a rhythmic beat is contagious.   Offered at a price people can afford and accessible, there will always be a group whose bodies and ears will respond.  Someone just has to offer it as this city's Arts Council did for their homeless, challenged, seniors, children and parents, those who couldn't afford to go to fancy clubs, and those who could well afford more structure but enjoyed the beautiful summer night and music outdoors to stir memories, as well as those who found the music new because it is not what one hears often enough today.