Frank Varga / Skagit Valley Herald Zora Lux, 98, accompanies singer Amy Hindman on snare drum every Tuesday at Where the Heart Is in Burlington.

Retirement community puts heart into weekly musical gathering

BURLINGTON — Everybody sings Tuesday afternoons at Where the Heart Is, but 98-year-old Zora Lux is in the band.

Singer Amy Hindman of Fir Island performs at a lot of retirement communities, but Where the Heart Is holds a special place in hers.

Last summer, the first time she sang and played guitar at the Burlington community, she remembers Lux and some friends doing hand gestures along with the songs. After several visits, Lux asked Hindman if she could play along on her snare drum.

Since then, Hindman has been coming every Tuesday afternoon and staffers set up the snare drum in front of Lux.

This week, the singing started before the drum arrived, so Lux tapped the red drumsticks on her walker while she waited.

About 15 residents sat in the audience, singing along to songs such as "Blue Moon," "Five Foot Two and Eyes of Blue," and "Bicycle Built for Two."

Hindman told the group she only recently learned the second verse to "Bicycle Built for Two," in which Daisy tells Michael there will be no marriage if he can't afford a carriage.

"You think she's such a sweet thing," she said. "But she says, ‘I don't think so.' "

Various residents and staffers crossed the room in between Hindman and Lux to get to the elevator, but they all joined in the sing-along.

"This place is a living musical, you know that," Hindman said. "People stage this kind of thing in the movies. Cue the lady in the elevator and she comes out singing."

For many, the songs invoked memories.

"I haven't heard that song in ages," a lady said of more than one song.

Hindman also told the stories behind some of the songs in musical theater.

Before "Doe a Deer," she recapped "Sound of Music," in which Julie Andrews' character teaches scales to the Von Trapp children.

"In the movie she teaches them in two minutes and they're singing all the parts in four minutes," she laughed. "Julie Andrews, whew! What a range."

Hindman supports herself as a musician, she said, adding that she sings different songs at retirement communities than she does when she performs at Market Place Bistro, for example. When she started singing for seniors, she used to do her own pieces as well as songs by James Taylor, Fleetwood Mac and Indigo Girls.

Eventually, she gravitated toward the songs her parents loved before they died.

"Singing in a retirement home is such a joy for me," she said after Tuesday's performance. "It's like singing for my parents."

When Hindman took a break from singing to juggle, the petite Lux accompanied her with a drum roll. During "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," she pantomimed hitting a ball and eating peanuts and Cracker Jacks, singing along with a wide smile.

Other residents had bits of their own. One shouted "Go Mariners!" after "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and a few said "Achoo" during "On Top of Spaghetti."

Hindman traditionally wraps up the set with the theme from the Mickey Mouse Club: "M-I-C, See ya real soon. K-E-Y, Why? Because we like you!"

At Where the Heart Is, the staffers treat the residents — and her — like family, she said.

"They're saving me a room," she joked.

Kari Neumeyer can be reached at 360-416-2145 or by e-mail at kneumeyer@skagitvalleyherald.com