Every Saturday I work at a senior living facility as a receptionist. Part of my job is to solve everyday issues that pop up in a senior’s life. Last week I received a phone call from John one of our residents with a very unusual problem.

John was quite upset and flustered because he kept hearing the same song being repeated over and over. He said that all day the song just kept repeating. He just couldn’t figure out where the music was coming from. John thought that the sound was coming from the walls. The music started to play just after he ate lunch. John was hearing the song “You are My Sunshine – My Only Sunshine” over and over. He said that it was his favorite song but now it was driving him crazy. He thought he was losing his mind. I’ve known John for a long time and he has a very sound mind, so I understood how frustrating this was for him.

Well, I listened closely and I could hear the song clearly over the phone. The song was quite loud and sure enough I heard the words “You are My Sunshine – My Only Sunshine” being song over and over again. I reassured him that he was not losing his mind and that I could hear the song also.

We tried to troubleshoot the problem and solve it over the phone. I suggested that he check his alarm clock thinking that maybe it was the alarm clock going off. In the past I have received calls from residents who had an alarm clock ringing in the background. John unplugged the alarm clock, but the music did not stop. Then I suggested that maybe it was the TV, but he reassured me the TV was off. But just to be safe he unplugged the TV to test if that is where the music was coming from, unfortunately the music did not stop.

This was definitely a problem that could not be solved over the phone. So I told John to give me a few minutes and I would walk over to his apartment to investigate. As I walked to the apartment I kept asking myself what could be causing this mystery music.

John greeted me at the door and sure enough loud and clear I could hear “You are My Sunshine – My Only Sunshine” being song over and over again. It didn’t take me very long to solve this mystery; I found a Happy 80th Birthday card sitting on the table singing its little heart out.