Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
ALPINE — Music is one of the greatest gifts of the Christmas season, but one Utah man gives that gift all year long.
David Candland was inspired to sing after a visit to his 103-year-old neighbor, Bertha.
"We were sitting, almost knee to knee like this, in her living room, talking and she says ‘Do you still sing?' " Candland remembered. "What I call my inner voice said, ‘You need to go sing to her' and my ego said ‘No way can you do that.' "
His "inner voice" won out.
Now David visits Bertha twice a week and brings along the gift of song. But this isn't the only performance venue for this untrained musician. He also sings to neighbors in seven different homes each week. It's a service that earned him the neighborhood nickname "The Singing Angel."
For Bertha, this standing appointment with a man she now calls "her son" is a bright spot in her day.
For David, it's a simple gift to give.