MARSHALL FRANK’S BRUTALLY SPEAKING
Reprinted with the author's permission
A MEMORABLE CHRISTMAS SMILE
Posted on December 8th, 2007 by Marshall Frank in General
I strolled around the church antechamber playing Broadway tunes, Christmas Carols and Patriotic
songs on violin while my friend, Jay, accompanied on piano. The folks all sat facing us in a semi-circle, singing along, clapping,
laughing at my antics. Twas a marvelous feeling for the two of us, to bring an hour of music and joy to the seniors of a day
care center.
I announced that Jay Barnhart and I had retired from the field of criminal justice, he a medical
examiner, me a homicide detective. Now in retirement, we are enjoying the gift of music that our parents instilled into us.
They roared when they heard our new tag line: The Dick-Doc Duo. (I didn’t tell them our other nickname: Bag ‘em
and Tag ‘em.)
As various tunes were played by heart and I roamed the room, my eyes often met theirs —one
by one— winking, smiling. In one swift swoop, I let an upbow sling from my hand like a dart until it hit the floor.
Laughter filled the room. My hips wiggled to strains of “If I Were A Rich Man,” and they laughed again.
One gentleman smiled broadly the entire hour. He seemed so robust and I wondered why he was among
these people, some of whom obviously suffered from dementia and other old-age maladies. Eyes brightened happily as one attractive
lady recognized us from a prior engagement. On her name tag: Nancy. I imagined her fifty years ago and wondered just
how beautiful she really was at thirty-five.
One woman to my left, perhaps of mid-east descent, seemed alert and immersed in the entertainment.
I wondered about her life, children, career, her ups her downs. One elderly gentleman with a cane seemed more detached and
I hoped he was enjoying the day. Perhaps, he didn’t even know we were there. Another man sang heartily. I figured him
a veteran of the big war.
As we finished White Christmas, I caught myself playing directly to a dark-haired lady sitting
to my right. Something was different about her. She bore a distant scowl on her face. She looked up at me, but…you know
how it is, she wasn’t looking at me. I lowered my fiddle and approached. “Smile,” I told her. She looked
up toward me, but remained stoic. I then smiled at her broadly, “Come, it won’t hurt.” I moved my fingers
upward at the corners of my mouth. She didn’t move a muscle. Perhaps, I thought, I am being out of line. “It’s
okay. You can smile.”
I knew all the others were watching, including the day care supervisors, but wanted to give it one
more try. Next to the lady, was an empty chair. I sat near to her. Strangely, she rotated her head toward me like Linda Blair
in The Exorcist and gazed directly into my eyes. Everyone in the room was lasered toward the unfolding scene. I was
about to rise, violin in hand, when — like an awakening — it happened. The woman’s face lit up like a Christmas
tree with the most wonderful smile I’d ever seen on any human being, her pearly whites glowing in the light, her eyes
wide and happy looking right at me.
The moment caught me a bit emotional, but I dared not show it. “You are so pretty,”
I told her. And, she was. Moments later, the woman reverted back to her stone face, but that was okay. She and I had a happy moment, together.
Jay and I visit nursing homes to entertain seniors, not for money, but for the reward of seeing
happiness on the faces of delightful people who have made so many contributions to the wonderful world we live in. All the
applause, laughter, and sing-alongs filled our hearts with gladness, but nothing that could match that incredible smile from
a woman who never smiled any more. It shall remain among my most memorable gifts ever.
The people in day care centers and nursing homes have been war veterans, nurses, policemen, plumbers,
journalists, ditch diggers, boat captains, dancers, artists, clerks, moms, dads, grandmothers and grandfathers or just, human
beings. If we’re lucky, we’ll all have our turn at aging. It
is so important they not be forgotten.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The foregoing only reinforces what most of us already know: Marshall
Frank is one of God's special creatures--he is generous to a fault. In addition to his many talents, he has a heart of gold.
About Marshall:
MARSHALL FRANK, 68, is a retired captain
from the Metro-Dade Police Department in Miami, Florida,
where he spent the majority of his thirty years investigating murders or commanding those who did.
Born to vaudevillian parents in New York City, Frank moved to Miami, Florida
at the age of five in an era when more Seminole Indians strolled Main Street
than Cuban-Americans. After graduating high school, he worked various jobs including ballroom dance instruction and symphony
violinist before serving a short stint in the United States Marine Corps Reserves.
Thanks to the advice of a notorious Miami
Beach bookie, and thoughtful stepfather, he found his niche in law enforcement by joining the Dade County Sheriff s Office
in 1960, serving as a road patrolman for three years before rising through the ranks to captain.
Outside of working vice, Frank's career
covered the gamut of high stress police assignments, including Internal Affairs, Criminal Intelligence and sixteen years in
Homicide and Crime Scene Investigations, seven years as a detective and nine more in a command status. He also served as captain
in charge of Staff Inspections and chief executive officer of a 250 man district station.
BOOKS IN PRINT:
From Violins to Violence – Dire Straits – Frankly
Speaking – Call Me Mommy -
On My Father’s Grave – Militant Islam in America
– The Latent – Beyond the Call
Available through
Amazon – or you may order an autographed copy from Marshall
on his website. www.marshallfrank.com
NOTE:
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