Resident Stories

Jazz Man

When John came to Malachi House on a mid-summers night, he was a big man, of ample size – “king of the highway.” The former trucker, D.J. and friend to many, was quiet, somewhat stoic and always observant of others’ needs. So what’s jazz got to do with penguins? It all happened on a Wednesday during our Penguin Party, when John became known as The Jazzman. That day, the Malachi staff proposed two questions:

• How do you party with penguins?
• How do you tell penguins apart?

After discussions, each person was given a paper penguin to wear and told to look for his/her “penguin partner,” i.e. a corresponding look-alike. When Kathy, a volunteer, spotted that her look-alike was John, she ran up and gave him a hug proudly announcing, “I’ve found my penguin partner!” This brought a radiant smile to the man’s face and essentially opened the window to his heart.

Looking through that window, we discovered John’s true passion for the myriad sound of jazz. This love reigned deep in his heart, mind and soul. He eagerly told us about the history of the big band era, jazz and down-home blues. He knew it well and everything it encompassed – the complex driving rhythm of a bass guitar, the cool, gentle brush of a snare drum, the howling trumpet and the deep velvet sound of a hushed voice. On that day, we opened and saw into the heart of a true Jazzman.