“THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE” – the Thuyen May Productions (a non-profit making) group not only says the words but also shows it’s appreciation by performing for the veterans!
TMP (short for Thuyen May Productions) has been invited back to spend an hour with the veterans in the Alwyn C. Castle Veterans Nursing Home at Lake Baldwin, Orlando a second time in June, the first time was in February. Each time we had prepared a full hour program of entertainment for the veterans, volunteers and staff.
On Tuesday June 18 th , TMP members arrived the nursing home at Lake Baldwin around 10 am to make preparation for an hour’s entertainment to the residents there between 11 am -12 noon. We hung some lanterns underneath the lights on the walls; and put some decorative umbrellas on the floor. Mr. C.K. Lau, who plays the saxophone, is also our group’s photographer. Mr. Bao Linh Than who just teamed up with C.K. Lau recently to play duet with his beloved Vietnamese (monochord instrument – dan bau) and Chinese (yueqin – The moon guitar) instruments. We have 5 members from TMP presented on the day to perform 3 traditional Vietnamese dances (Journey to the Mekong Delta, Sitting by the Boat-side and Tian Mi Mi), and a special one (the Pretty Bamboo Tree) to exercise with the veterans!
All the residents at the nursing home need to be looked after by nurses/helpers as they are all somewhat immobile – in wheelchairs! Some of them could not even open their eyes for the entire performance but we hoped that some of the beautiful music could get through to their minds! Some of the TMP members also chose to sit down to perform “The Pretty Bamboo Tree” to show the veterans that even restricted by wheelchairs one can exercise and keep moving!
We hope through this article, other voluntary organizations would come forward to spend time with these veterans – brave people who have spent part of their life to defend their county and save lives! It is our turn to show them how much we care for what they have done!
We are pleased to bring some joy to them to thank them for their service. If your organization is interested in contributing some activities, please contact Alwyn C. Castle Veterans Nursing Home at Lake Baldwin Activity Director Jamie Vargas at [email protected] They are eager to partner with any performing group to bring some fun to the veterans.
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