[scottitude]

Yeah LK, very cool story. And well-told, too. You have most likely impacted his life in a way he never imagined possible and will never be able to fully express; you did an awesome thing! I know you didn't restore his hearing, but you've shared something with him that no one else has and that he's obviously enjoying.

Someone asked me once years ago if I had to lose my hearing or my eyesight, which would I choose. They and everyone else around at the time were aghast when without hesitation I said my eyesight. As crazy as it sounds to many people, I'm dead serious. I simply cannot imagine living without hearing music; silence would drive me insane. I'd rather be blind and functional than deaf and suicidally crazy.

Since you started this thread about sharing music, I'm compelled to share my own experience, but from the other side of the coin. Some time back, someone who's never met me and only knows me from my online presence asked me for my address so they could send me something they thought I might enjoy. I tried the polite "thanks but don't go to any trouble" response but they were insistent, even refusing to to accept anything in trade. One of my favorite novels has a subplot that included the notion that "the beauty of a gift is in the giving" and no matter how uncomfortable one may feel accepting such a gratuity, it is inappropriate to deny the giver the joy of giving. So I replied with my address.

When I opened the package I was shocked and amazed, not only by the three discs it contained, but that someone I'd never really met had given it to me. I literally sat open-mouthed, staring at it incredulously for several minutes before I gathered my wits enough to put one in and play it. It was a double disc high quality video and an audio CD of Queen's incredible performance on Christmas Eve 1973 at the Hammersmith Odeon. I never knew it existed and while I already have practically every commercially released Queen video and DVD ever made, none compare to the raw power of this amazing band as they were poised to change the face of modern music forever. If you're not a Queen fan, imagine what it would be like to be gifted with an unkown video recording that included Blonde Solid and Get Back Again, or featured Davis Manning on sax. It's the stuff rock and roll dreams are made of.

I thanked the giver profusely but to this day, mere words will never convey the importance or impact of this one simple gift.

No one should ever underestimate the power of music. It really is a common language we all understand regardless of race, religion, politics, or any other seperative concept. It is the great unifier.