Singing For Grandpa
Singing it forward
Julie was fifteen years old when her grandpa died. As they were very close, Julie took the death rather hard. Everyone that knew her said that something changed that year, but it was hard to put one’s finger on just what changed.
It was Julie’s grandpa who got her interested in music and it was he who paid for her lessons, and it was he who never missed her recitals. He was her biggest fan. He played the piano for Julie for countless hours so that she could practice her songs. Julie was a masterful singer, and that is what her grandpa kept telling her over and over until she believed it. He kept telling her that someday she would stand before a crowd of thousands and make every one of them cry with her voice. That is what he told her the purpose of singing was; to melt people’s hearts.
After her grandpa died, Julie became obsessed with her music and the desire to make her grandpa’s prediction come true. Everyone was amazed by the progress she made in the years immediately following her grandpa’s death. She worked every day for hours both before and after school. She entered and won contests, and finally, at age 19 she was invited to sing before a large crowd of several thousand people at the State Fair. The song she picked was a real tearjerker and she sang it so well there was not a dry eye in the house.
