Ohio’s Community Mercy Hospice Helps Patient Revisit “Alabama” Roots

When Ohio’s Community Mercy hospice patient and music lover Arthur Meharg heard that the band Alabama was performing in the area, he really wanted to go. After all, he had a “history” with the band stretching back decades. He had seen three concerts back in the heyday of their success in the early 1980’s while he was living in California. “They only had five members of the band then, and I loved their music,” Arthur recalls. “I’ve also been to visit the Alabama Fan Club and Museum twice.”

The challenge Arthur faced was that the Alabama show scheduled at the Rose Music Center was “sold out.”

That’s when his hospice team went to work to help make his concert outing a reality. An internet search turned up tickets available for purchase. Advance communication between Ohio’s Community Mercy Hospice and the Rose Center assured easy parking, use of a wheelchair, and keepsake photos of the outing for Arthur and his significant other, Darlene. Here they are, pictured at the show.

Arthur’s review of the show critiqued the drummer for being too loud. “I would throw the drummer in the river and his drums with him,” he complained. Nevertheless, he and Darlene enjoyed the show and it was a special evening for them both. “I’m 80 now,” Arthur says. “I tend to reminisce and think a lot of things were better in the old days.”

It seems likely that, if asked, the remaining original members of Alabama might just agree with him.

Postscript: Arthur Meharg passed away December 8, 2018.