Tom Vaccaro of Davenport got the wish of a lifetime when he played on the Ryman Auditorium stage on January 4, 2025 (courtesy of Wish of a Lifetime from AARP)
Tom Vaccaro of Davenport had a “Grand Ole” time in Nashville, Tennessee, to kick off his 2025.
The 70-year-old musician, actor, artist, and retired television art director won the wish of a lifetime during the first weekend of January, when he went on an all-expenses-paid trip to the country music capital and performed on the stage of the hallowed Ryman Auditorium, beloved as “The Mother Church of Country Music.”
After being nominated by a friend, Vaccaro, who has Parkinson’s disease (PD), earned the vacation from Wish of a Lifetime from AARP, and on January 4, he had the incredible opportunity to take a private tour of the Ryman, when he played a Hank Williams song on the exact spot where Hank performed it in 1952.
“This experience brought a lot of emotion to Tom, filling him with excitement and serving as a beautiful way to celebrate his love for music,” stated the AARP.
Wish of a Lifetime from AARP provided round-trip air transportation, on-the-ground transportation, hotel stay, guitar rental, concert tickets, and organized the private tour in collaboration with the venue.
Wish of a Lifetime is not an AARP program but rather a charitable affiliate. The organization’s mission is “to spark hope and joy in the hearts of older adults by fulfilling their dreams through personalized experiences that promote healthy and purposeful aging,” the AARP stated. “We share these stories to inspire those of all ages.”
“It was so cool,” Vaccaro said recently of the priceless experience. “Think of the history and all the artists who have played there.”
The iconic auditorium dates from 1892, when it opened as Union Gospel Tabernacle, built by riverboat captain Thomas Ryman. When he died in 1904, Ryman was widely regarded as an exceptional businessman and a pillar of faith, generosity and kindness in the Nashville community, according to the Ryman Web site.
At Ryman’s funeral on Christmas Day, Sam Jones proposed to the 5,000 mourners in attendance that the building be re-named in the captain’s honor; from that day forward, the Union Gospel Tabernacle was known as Ryman Auditorium.
On June 5, 1943, the Grand Ole Opry (which marks its 100th anniversary this year) moved to its most famous former home, Ryman Auditorium, where it stayed for the next 31 years. In 1974, it moved to the Grand Ole Opry House at Opryland, later renovated in 2010 after a major flood.
Vaccaro chose the Hank Williams song “Jambalaya” to perform at the Ryman, which the country legend played there on July 12, 1952. “He debuted the song then,” Vaccaro said, adding that the musician had just written it.
“It’s a classic venue, so I picked a classic song,” he added. “When you think of Grand Ole Opry, you think of Hank Williams.”
Vaccaro first visited the Ryman during a Nashville trip in 2015. “I never expected this time to be on the stage,” he marveled, adding that during last month’s trip, he also visited the great music venues The Bluebird Cafe and Tootsie’s.
Vaccaro was first diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019, a year after he had one of his last major stage roles – as Zach in Quad City Music Guild’s A Chorus Line in the summer of 2018. He also appeared in the Black Box Theatre's musical Assassins in August of 2019.
PD is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects predominately dopamine-producing neurons in an area of the brain called substantia nigra. Symptoms generally develop slowly over years, and the progression of symptoms is often different from one person to another. The disease is defined as a movement disorder because of the tremors, slowing and stiffening movements it can cause, and these are the most obvious symptoms of the disease.
Fortunately, Vaccaro does not have tremors, but he does have some difficulty in speaking. He participates in a monthly support group and wants to organize a local fundrasiser for Parkinson's research.
Approximately 60,000 Americans are diagnosed with PD each year. Incidence of Parkinson’s disease increases with age, but an estimated 4 percent of people with PD are diagnosed before age 50, and men are 1.5 times more likely to have it than women.
Vaccaro enjoyed his four days in Nashville so much that he’s thinking of moving there. “I’m not going there to be famous; I want to be in a community of musicians,” he said. “There are so many opportunities to play. I want to write songs and play guitar. I miss performing.”
Anyone can be nominated for a Wish of a Lifetime, and more information is available by visiting WishOfALifetime.org. It has granted more than 2,900 wishes so far, in all 50 states.
