Saturday night, Sedalia was blessed with the talent of Jay Allen, brought to us by the vision and determination of my friend, WyAnn Lipps. When Jay was on The Voice, he spoke of his mother’s early-onset Alzheimer’s and how his song “Blank Stares” had raised millions for Alzheimer’s.
Jay’s dedication to the cause was evident when he was on the show, but during the concert, he let us know that the only reason he went on the show was to gain more visibility to raise money to end Alzheimer’s.
During the “meet and greet” before the performance, Jay took time to ask names and stories. He had the compassion born of the grief of someone who had lost a loved one to the devastation of Alzheimer’s. He noticed my purple toenail polish and said, “Your toenails are painted purple—you are all in, aren’t you.”
“All in” exactly describes our core of volunteers. WyAnn was definitely “all in” when she saw Jay on The Voice and wanted him to be a voice in our community. She and Jay clicked and a date was chosen for the event.
The MU Naturelles opened the show with their talented a cappella performance loaded with spirit and sass. This group included WyAnn’s granddaughter Chloe. As I pointed out to some friends, I knew Chloe when she was shorter than I am. She’s always been a joy to be around and a talented vocalist.
I had watched and rooted for Jay when he was on The Voice so it came as no surprise to me that he was an excellent entertainer who put his heart and soul into a vibrant performance. The audience was small since we had competition from proms, conferences, programs, competitions, and all the other usual entertainment and events at the end of April.
Jay asked everyone to move to the front, encouraged everyone to stand at the edge of the stage. He spent the evening interacting with the audience while he gave a stellar performance. He is a complex man who is unafraid to speak of his faith that his mother is in heaven. His music reflects his faith and embraces his joy in life. Jay has an excellent sense of humor and created a party atmosphere, but in a family-friendly way.
Of course, “Blank Stares” is a song that resonates with me. Jim’s sister told me one time that Jim had a “faraway look” in his eyes. At times, it seemed as if he was looking through me instead of at me.
Jay sang another song that touched my heart and that song is “No Present like the Time.” I lost Jim, first to the disease, and then to death. I was thankful that we had taken vacations to Oregon, Estes Park, and Branson. We filled our lives with music, campfires, love, and quiet conversations over our morning coffee. The gift of time was cut short, but we made the most of the time we had.
After Jim was diagnosed with dementia, I learned the wisdom of living and appreciating the present. I didn’t want to compare the man he was to the man he had been before the disease, and I didn’t want to dread how he was going to change as the years went by. “No Time like the Present” sums it up succinctly.
Jim died at 59 and I am forever grateful that “out of all the millions of girls in the world” (as he used to say) he chose me to spend his life with. Having known true love, I was in a better position to move on with my life and find love again. The older I get, the more I think like my mom, who often says, “Well, I woke up this morning so it’s a good day.”
Copyright © April 2023 by L.S. Fisher
http://earlyonset.blogspot.com
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