Seasons of Life

For Shrewsbury resident Bruce Andrews, the sound of his mother's voice reading to him is a treasured childhood memory. He always continued this reading tradition with his wife, children and grandchildren. Sharing stories and poems aloud with an audience, however, has more recently become one of Andrews' passions.

Earlier this month at the Shrewsbury Public Library, Andrews presented a 'baker's dozen' of famous and lesser known works by Robert Frost in a read-aloud the local narrator entitled Seasons of Life.

He compiled Frost's poems in such a way as to reflect the aging process (childhood, adolescence, adulthood and beyond), noting life's changes and choices along the way. Intermittently adding snippets of the famous poet's personal history and correspondence, Andrews explained that Frost wrote with the "sound of sense," a lyrical nature of words.

Andrews himself is a music-maker, more so in retirement than ever before.

"Just prior to my retirement, my sister-in-law called and asked if I would kindly come down to a community house that she managed in Rhode Island and play guitar for a Christmas party she was planning for children and their families," Andrews said. "I had been playing guitar and ukulele for family functions for years, and she knew I had all the music and loved to play..." 

Following this performance, the former electrical engineer was unexpectedly offered compensation, which he immediately returned to the community center. Yet the enthusiasm of the evening lit a spark for Andrews.

"All the way home, I was thinking about the check and about how much fun I had," he said. "Over the next six months, as my retirement date grew closer, I began to plan out a kind of process for using my non-engineering side to best advantage."

Andrews now performs approximately 50 sing-alongs and concerts each year at nursing homes, senior centers and assisted living facilities throughout New England, with the Christmas season being particularly busy.

"I don't make a lot of money," he said, "but it's simply the most rewarding thing I've ever done, and I can't wait for the next performance."

Regarding his enthusiasm for the arts, he said, "I'm convinced that everyone has a poet's heart."

Although he does not consider himself a poet per se, Andrews is known to pen the occasional song lyric, including his recent Things That Get Better with Age:

"I savor the moment, I taste it with pleasure.
What used to be wasted now makes me smile.
I can't stop the years but I can find the treasure;
With age comes perspective, sit and stay for awhile."

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*Bruce Andrews narrates poetry and stories on Shrewsbury Public Access Television (Channel 28) under the logo Roses Are Read.  Program schedule is available at the Web site.