CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A Clay County woman shared a video with News4Jax, showing her neighbors luau singing in their driveway. It attracted some attention and offered a much-needed distraction from the neighbors’ days long home isolation.
Luau music is not necessarily the sound you expect to hear while under quarantine.
As Mary Holtcamp soon found out, it was the sound she and her Eagle Harbor neighbors needed to hear.
“I pulled a chair out and I went partially across the street. There were neighbors from several different directions,” Holtcamp told News4Jax by phone. “It was beautiful to see that everybody was enjoying the music, yet practicing the social distancing that we all need to do.”
Standing nearby, but not too close together, Holtcamp said, she and her neighbors relished in the harmony. In the video, the singers could be heard playing for several minutes, including Elvis Presley’s 1961 hit “I can’t help falling in love with you."
For a short time, Holtcamp said, the music allowed them to forget their troubles.
“It was just such a good, feel-good experience,” Holtcamp said. “We had young people and we had older people. It was beautiful.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus, Holtcamp said sharing these moments together sends a message of unity.
"We hope it will be sooner rather than later," Holtcamp said. "It's gatherings like this that make you know that, as a community, we can address just about anything."
Holtcamp said the group had mentioned possibly performing again in the future. Safety permitting, of course.
