OVIEDO, Fla. – An Oviedo singer is doing his part for his neighbors by sharing some lyrics.
"We heard him singing and then we came outside just kind of curious as to what was going on," Andrea Simkanich, an Oviedo resident said.
Her neighbor, Rich Bresenhan, had set up his mic in front of his driveway and started to sing one Sunday afternoon.
“As soon as he said, ‘Go out on your cul-de-sac,' I was like, ‘OK I think I’m hearing you right,’” Bresenhan said.
He recalled his pastor’s words during Sunday service. That moment inspired the Pennsylvania native to use his talent and let his neighbors know he understands their concerns surrounding COVID-19.
Bresenhan said his random act of kindness was a calling from above.
“That’s what we’re called to do as church musicians, is to use our gift for the benefit of other people, for edification of other people,” he said.
The makeshift concert felt like a ray of sunshine for his neighbor, Simkanich.
“It made me especially feel like I wasn’t alone,” the mother of twins said. “We just sat outside, we talked across the street and just sat in our driveways and enjoyed it and sent requests all the way down here by yelling.”
She said his gesture has connected neighbors and helped them forget for a couple of hours about the global health crisis as they looked on from their driveways,
"It's really special to get to know one another and it almost feels like we're living in the 1950s where everybody knew their neighbors," Simkanich said.
For Bresenhan, his performance even helped him cope with his emotions.
"Just for me, it's helping because I'm a lot less bored doing it and I feel useful where it's hard to feel useful in this kind of environment," he said.
A silver lining, which includes more time with his wife and 6-year-old son.
“We’ve cooked meals as a family, we’ve played games, we’re more hands-on with our sons’ education,” he said. “I hope that the people who listen and see it online at least for a minute, you know, get to have some good feelings instead of the bad feelings that this whole thing is causing.”