If you have an aging parent or grandparent, you may relate to my elderly friend Mike.

The son of immigrants, Mike was born in the Kips Bay neighborhood of Manhattan Island in the roaring '20s. His family always lived in an apartment building, although they moved quite often-usually because the super refused to paint the joint. But they never moved out of the neighborhood.

Mike joined the Army in World War II; after the war, he went to Syracuse University on the GI Bill and graduated in 1949 with a BSME. He would often tell me that if it weren't for the GI Bill, he would never have been able to afford college; might have been a carpenter instead.

Fifty-five years ago, Mike married Fran, his sweetheart from across the river in Brooklyn. The newlyweds lived the American Dream, bought a house with nothing down, raised their three children and put them all through college. Now in his 80s, Mike is being kept alive by modern medical technology, although he is able to be at home and is still fairly mobile. His bride is at his side, staying true to that promise they made to each other at the beginning of their life together: "to love and to cherish in sickness and in health, till death do us part." His children and grandchildren visit him often to give Fran a break and lift Mike's spirits. He is surrounded by love.

Last Friday Barbara and I brought Mike's favorite pizza to their home for dinner. We had a wonderful visit. He still has a keen mind and a sense of humor about what he's been dealt in the final days of life. After we finished the pizza, Mike got up from the kitchen table, shuffled off to get a drink of water and then suggested we move to the den. On the way he picked up his harmonica, which he'd learned to play at the Kips Bay Boys Club when he was 10. He also grabbed a well-worn scrap of paper on which was written a list of "their" favorite songs. For the next 15 minutes he played and we sang those ballads from so long ago. His bride had tears in her eyes. So did we.

When Frank isn't being thankful for what a harmonica can do to lift the human spirit, he can be reached at fburge@cmp.com.