Bell ringer shares the gift of love and music in Westborough

583

By Cela Dorr, Contributing Writer

Bell ringer shares the gift of love and music in Westborough
Keith Bryant outside of Roche Bros. in Westborough
Photo/Cela Dorr

Westborough – If you hear the lush, melodic notes of a baritone singer emanating across the parking lot at Bay State Commons, then you have walked into the performance space of Keith Bryant. For 16 consecutive years, Bryant, a bell ringer with the Salvation Army, has been entertaining shoppers in front of Roche Bros. grocery store during the holiday season.  This soldier is armed with a chiming hand bell, an amplifier playing North Pole Radio, a microphone and a welcoming smile.

A native of the Bronx neighborhood of New York City, Bryant has been living in Massachusetts for approximately 28 years. The musical bug bit him when he was eight years old when he heard The Beatles and The Jackson Five. On the TV in his family apartment, he saw Michael Jackson and his siblings dancing across the screen. Inspired, he learned their songs, dance moves and even grew his hair out to match the brothers’ look.  On the radio, the lyrics about peace and love by The Beatles warmed his soul and he ingested every word, taking those their meaning to heart. These early experiences, plus, seeing his mother’s work with the Salvation Army, would form the base from which he would grow from and influenced the trajectory of his life.

Giving back to others is the foundation of Bryant’s personal philosophy. In his 18 years as a soldier for the Salvation Army, he has worked in various positions: support staff for individuals with cognitive disabilities, medical assistance in nursing homes, and security details for the Job Corps program. For several years, he would also perform in Worcester’s Institute Park, crooning “oldies music” for children who had medical afflictions. In those moments, he was able to bring happiness and smiles to the faces of children for whom life had dealt a tough blow. He remembers times growing up when it was hard for his family and how music transported him out of the challenges of that moment. In these short interactions with the children and their families, he knew that he could transform their life, if only in fleeting moments.

A mantra that he lives by is found in the Bible: Love and be loved. He hosts weekly fellowship meetings in his home where a small group of friends study the scripture and discuss. Perhaps a meal is shared afterwards and always stories, smiles, laughter and love. This time of year, he likes to reflect on the pureness of heart he sees in the children who come out of the store, urging and pleading with the adults they are with to put something in the bright, red bucket. Sometimes the children take matters into their own hands if met with a shaking head of their parents. Recently, a young girl did not agree with her mother wanting to rush out of the store and hurry to the car. The girl obeyed her mother and went to the car, but in a flash, she was back in front of Keith, taking $2 out of her own pink change purse to insert in the slot of the donation bucket. Her mother followed, out of breath, maybe a little embarrassed that her child saw the importance of giving back when she hurried past.  But there was no judgment from Bryant, he flashed his smile, waved and kept singing.

Knowing he has the opportunity to make people smile is the sustaining energy that gets him out of the bed in the morning.

“The world is a big place and our hearts are even bigger than the world,” he said. “So if we shared our hearts with one another instead of tearing them apart, the world would see the greatest heart ever.”

 

No posts to display