My daughter almost made me cry yesterday...

About 6 weeks ago I had a surgical implant of the Starr Toric lens in my left eye, and three weeks ago the right eye was done. Unfortunately, things are not going well and I cannot see as well as I could prior to the surgery, but that's the bad news part of this story.

The good news part is my daughter has been able to help her old dad by doing all the loading, unloading and setup of my system during the time I had lifting restrictions because of the surgery. She only has one usable arm because a near-fatal motorcycle accident left her left arm paralyzed. I knew she has a good voice, but she would never sing with me in the past, claiming that it just wasn't something she wanted to do. Since the surgery she decided she would sing with me on the job, mainly because she had to be there anyway and would get bored if she had nothing to do but sit around waiting for dad.

A couple days ago I asked her to sing Over The Rainbow, which has always been one of my favorite songs. I fell in love with Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz when I first saw the movie in 1945. (Yes Fran, I'm that old.) I fired up the PSR-3000, she kick in on the song, and instantly, I was overwhelmed with her rendition of the song. Before she finished I had tears streaming down my face. They were tears of joy and I was so emotional I couldn't even think about the next song I wanted to perform. Those in the audience that could stand gave her a standing ovation that seemed to last forever.

Hopefully, I'll have her record the song next week when we're back on the circuit and I'll post it for others to hear. She's an incredibly brave lady and has been through a lot. I'm so proud of her that I would have a great deal of difficulty putting into words just how proud I am of her. If and when you get to hear her sing I believe you'll agree she has the voice of an angel.

Cheers from an emotional, old man,

Gary

That's a lovely account, Gary, you're blessed. I know my daughters would do the same. Well, one of them - the other one can't sing worth a *. Hope you're back to 20/20 vision soon. You can't possibly know the words to all your songs.:-)

What a great thing Gary. I play music everyday with my 8 year old daughter. She is the greatest joy of my life and I hope to one day have an experiance like yours.

Hi Gary, realizing there's no relationship quite as special as a father and his daughter(s),
I think you've exemplified this well with your personal story. I'm looking forward to hearing your daughter's rendition of Over the Rainbow now.

Gary,
I am touched by your story; you found joy in the middle of being challenged. A daughter that must deal with her problem is singing with you. You having serious problems with your eyesight; and in all that you found joy in your daughter, in performing together.

It takes a rare individual to receive and handle adversity as you do. My admiration my friend, you’re special.

John C.

Hi Gary:

It's wonderful when our children do nice things for us. I'm so sorry to hear of your eyesight problem. Let's hope that it's just a temporary condition and not a "show-stopper." You have a big following and they would really be disappointed... although not nearly as unhappy as you might be. Prayers are headed your way. Give your daughter a Glen Rose, Texas hug from us.

Gary, what a great daughter and I can tell how proud and pleased you must have been. I didn't know about the eye issue. You will be in my thoughts and prayers. If you need some R & R Pat and I have 4 empty bedrooms, a 19 foot Sea Ray, and the fishing here is very good. I also have a batch of homebrew going that will be ready in about 2 weeks.

Tom

Gary, What a great thing your daughter is doing assisting you. Singing was the icing on the cake. Nice to hear you've got a great relationship, they always don't work that way.

Gary, That's a BEAUTIFUL story, but having met your family I am not the least bit surprised ...
Sorry to hear about the eye problem ... our prayers are with you for a full, speedy recovery ...
Can't wait to hear her sing ...

Thanks for the well-wishes everyone. I'll be seeing another eye doctor on the 27th for an evaluation of whether the problem can be readily corrected. The vision seems to be getting worse by the day, which is not a good sign.

I hope to have my daughter do a recording for me sometime this week. When it's done I'll definitely post it here.

Thanks again everyone,

Gary

Looking forward to it, Gary. All the best on the 27th - hope it's good news for you.

Beautiful Story, and Good Luck to you my fellow "swabby"

Cool story, amigo, love it. And, one of my fave songs of all time. And everybody else's! To even HAVE a daughter is a blessing.

Gary, here is my tribute to you and your daughter.
http://donmasonmusic.com/Toughlittleboys/

Made a boo-boo or two in it of course.

DonM

Gary,

Always had you down as a very nice modest man, sorry to hear about your eyes, but equally glad you were in tears over your daughters nice surprise she gave you. Parents
are not all so lucky as you Gary, I have not spoken to my (46) oldest daughter in 16 years, she left her husband and 3 young children under circumstances which I could not accept
and were beyond my comprehension, I doubt if she will ever see me alive again unless I am on my death bed and someone asks her to come and watch my last gasps.
Now I am in tears in my eyes and I can't type anymore, who needs facebook, thumbs up thumbs down?

Tony

WOW! Thanks Don for that beautiful song. If you don't mind I'm going to burn it to a CD and give it to my wife and daughter.

Thanks again old friend,

Gary

loved it Don, simply beautiful!!

Leave it to the 'Mason' to have just the right song for the occasion ... beautifully done, Don,
thank you ...

Be my guest, Gary. I can do a better version without the hiccups if you like. Also have the WAV version if you prefer.
DonM

The MP3 will be just fine, Don. Email it to me and I'll convert it during the CD burn.

Thanks again,

Gary

Wow, Mason... that was simply wonderful. Truer words were never spoken... or sung so well. Brought a tear to this old dad's eyes. Thanks for sharing this with all of us.

Dave Rice

Please don't anyone get the idea that I wrote this song. It is a
Gary Allen song. He was in town this weekend, and I remembered it.

I just went upstairs and asked my wife to read the thread while playing the song. I guess I'm not the only softie in the house.

Thanks again Don,

Gary

Ain't music great? It gives us a way to express ourselves when sometimes nothing else will do.
Don