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CNN Sunday Morning
Forever Young
Aired June 22, 2003 - 11:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Forget shuffleboard and bingo. Some senior citizens in Portland, Maine, are getting jiggy with it. Amy Sinclair, with affiliate WGME, explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY SINCLAIR, WGME CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Gamage and his portable karaoke machine are famous on mid-coast nursing home circuit.
JOHN GAMAGE: How about "Blueberry Hill"? I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill...
SINCLAIR: He's got a repertoire of more than 100 songs.
J. GAMAGE: Sometimes I start with an old one, and then I'll start with a Broadway one on the next day, and mix them all up. They love it.
SINCLAIR: They love it because John sings the music they sang and danced to when they were young.
J. GAMAGE: Do you remember when you loved me...
SINCLAIR: It was John's wife, Nancy, an employee here at the retirement community who first coaxed her husband up to the microphone.
J. GAMAGE: She knew I used to sing a lot, and she's like, why don't you come up and entertain them? She said, they don't have nothing doing weekends especially.
SINCLAIR: Now, John packs activity rooms at four mid-coast nursing homes, and no one is more surprised than John's big brother, Elliott.
ELLIOTT GAMAGE, BROTHER OF JOHN GAMAGE: I never thought he could sing like this. And how he got the courage, he never had (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
SINCLAIR: And there are unexpected perks. At 79, John is the nursing home's sex symbol.
J. GAMAGE: They come up to me all the time, two or three of them, I'm their boyfriend. NANCY GAMAGE, WIFE OF JOHN GAMAGE: They say, oh, he's your beautiful man or he's -- I'd love to just run my fingers through his hair.
SINCLAIR: John knows he's lucky to have both his hair and his voice. He's happy to share both.
J. GAMAGE: I just love to see their faces, the smiles on their faces. That's my reward.
SINCLAIR: So if anyone needs a little cheering up, he and his karaoke machine are ready to roll.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 22, 2003 - 11:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Forget shuffleboard and bingo. Some senior citizens in Portland, Maine, are getting jiggy with it. Amy Sinclair, with affiliate WGME, explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMY SINCLAIR, WGME CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): John Gamage and his portable karaoke machine are famous on mid-coast nursing home circuit.
JOHN GAMAGE: How about "Blueberry Hill"? I found my thrill on Blueberry Hill...
SINCLAIR: He's got a repertoire of more than 100 songs.
J. GAMAGE: Sometimes I start with an old one, and then I'll start with a Broadway one on the next day, and mix them all up. They love it.
SINCLAIR: They love it because John sings the music they sang and danced to when they were young.
J. GAMAGE: Do you remember when you loved me...
SINCLAIR: It was John's wife, Nancy, an employee here at the retirement community who first coaxed her husband up to the microphone.
J. GAMAGE: She knew I used to sing a lot, and she's like, why don't you come up and entertain them? She said, they don't have nothing doing weekends especially.
SINCLAIR: Now, John packs activity rooms at four mid-coast nursing homes, and no one is more surprised than John's big brother, Elliott.
ELLIOTT GAMAGE, BROTHER OF JOHN GAMAGE: I never thought he could sing like this. And how he got the courage, he never had (UNINTELLIGIBLE).
SINCLAIR: And there are unexpected perks. At 79, John is the nursing home's sex symbol.
J. GAMAGE: They come up to me all the time, two or three of them, I'm their boyfriend. NANCY GAMAGE, WIFE OF JOHN GAMAGE: They say, oh, he's your beautiful man or he's -- I'd love to just run my fingers through his hair.
SINCLAIR: John knows he's lucky to have both his hair and his voice. He's happy to share both.
J. GAMAGE: I just love to see their faces, the smiles on their faces. That's my reward.
SINCLAIR: So if anyone needs a little cheering up, he and his karaoke machine are ready to roll.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
