Father's lullaby strikes a chord
Nephew David Motola (my sister Lynne’s son) and his wife, Molly, are like a lot of young parents, making a living and a life and raising a family. They live in Salt Lake City with their three darling sons, Isaac, 4, Ezra, 2, and baby Sam, just 4 months old. And like a lot of extended families we all connect in real time via Facebook, sharing photos and videos.
On Saturday night, David and Molly were up late with a fussy baby who was suffering from an earache. David is a talented musician so in the wee hours he put Sam in a baby sling on his chest and sat down at the piano to play him a lullaby. Captured on video is David kissing Sam’s head then beginning a beautiful Brahms Lullaby. Within seconds Sam yawns, and a few seconds later his eyes close. In less than a minute, he’s sleeping sweetly while his daddy plays. At noon on Sunday, David posted the video to his Facebook page, where I saw it early evening. It already had 28,000 views and more than 1,000 shares when I posted it on my page.
By Monday afternoon, less than 36 hours after the original posting, the video lullaby had more than a million views and climbing. When I woke up yesterday morning it was at 3.5 million views and by the time I filed this column just before noon on Tuesday it had logged more than 5 million views and been shared more than 15,000 times!
It’s pretty incredible to see a homemade video of a loving father and a sleeping infant go viral in an Internet landscape littered with videos of cats and political rants. Gives me a little hope for the future. You can find the YouTube video at Bearded Piano, https://youtu.be/Ow0lbyPkpnU.
• • •
I’ve written before about the rewards of going outside your comfort zone and saying yes to things that challenge the status quo. I’ve spoken to a number of groups the past few years on that very topic. So in December, when Laura Little approached me about participating in a special performance to benefit the Coeur d’Alene Summer Theater, I was surprised to hear myself respond with "no thank you." A few minutes after a little internal dialogue, I told her I’d changed my mind. And that’s how I came to be
cast in the April 22 production of Dancing with Celebrities, to be held at the Kroc Center.
I’m not a dancer and can think of a hundred reasons not to take the stage and try to convince an audience of the contrary. While a fan since the beginning of Dancing with the Stars — largely due to the participation of Julianne and Derek Hough, whose grandparents, father, aunt and uncles are family friends since my own youth — that hardly transfers dance skill by osmosis.
So I have three months to prepare, which might not be enough time to lose 100 pounds and find the Fountain of Youth, but what the heck. Supporting the arts in our community and traveling light years outside my comfort zone will be its own reward, not to mention the sequins and rhinestones.
Tickets are on sale for just $20 at www.cdasummertheatre.com or through the box office (208) 660-2958.
• • •
February is Heart Health Month and the kickoff of the Go Red for Women campaign. Kootenai Health is offering Heart to Heart screenings this month on Tuesdays from 7:30-9:30 a.m., in Kootenai’s Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation Gym. Give yourself the gift of good health by knowing how you measure up. Call (208) 625-6800 to schedule your screening.
Heart disease is the No.1 killer of men and women, claiming more than 600,000 lives each year — more than all forms of cancer combined. Listen to your heart, my friends.
• • •
Last year, VFW Post 3603 in Post Falls was able to rebuild membership after some uncertain times for the local post. Now it's looking to establish an auxiliary and need at least 10 new members to join the ranks. If you have a relative who served in a combat zone as a member of the Armed Forces, you may be eligible. Contact Christie Beeler at (208) 620-1165 or Margaret Leuck at (208) 215-1161.
• • •
Happy birthday today to Jackie Jameson, Leslie Damiano, Cindy Spence, Denise Lundy, Dawn Magness, Kay Burke, Howard Martinson and Donna Armbruster. The same tomorrow to Gene Reed, Connie Johnson, Nancy Wilson (80!), Cindy Mead and Charisse Gross.
On Friday, Susan Jacobson, Sophie Medlock, Leslie Deubner, Sharon Anderson, Vicki Johnson and Jeanette Dunn have their cake and eat it, too.
Randy Oaks (50!), Rich Morrow, Carole Fredekind, Cris Burnham, Rick Altman (60!), Pat Clevenger, Stephen Scott, Jimmy McAndrew, Lisa Hunt, Duane Justus, Matt Ormeshed and Mike Grabenstein put on their party hats on Saturday.
Amanda Miller, Pat Thyssen, Lori Malin, Angel Duthie, Terry Ellis and Shawn Aldrich will blow out their birthday candles on Sunday. Monday birthdays will be celebrated by Barb Bradley, Natalie Forsyth, Pamela Thoms, Lynn Hayes, Linda Davis, Henry Hildreth, Rocky Brockhoff and Larry O’Leary.
Feb. 9 birthdays belong to Linda Wilhelm, Brandie Shofner, Buddy Le, Marian Crumb, Greg Smith, Julia Free and Alta Steele.
Kerri Rankin Thoreson is a member of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and the former publisher of the Post Falls Tribune. Main Street appears every Wednesday in The Press and Kerri can be contacted on Facebook or via email mainstreet@cdapress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kerrithoreson.