REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. (AP) - Robb Mapou’s love for the ukulele is infectious.
The Rehoboth Beach resident has long found himself at home behind a microphone, playing the guitar since he was a kid.
From the moment he announced the Pledge of Allegiance over the crackling loudspeaker in second grade, he knew he wanted to entertain – a drive that led to him dabbling in local radio during high school and college, and even playing the guitar on the same the day he met his now-husband 43 years ago.
It’s difficult to nail down what truly sparked his interest in the beloved Hawaiian instrument, but Mapou points to one particularly enchanting trip to Hawaii in the early 2000s.
He and his husband were attending the Merrie Monarch Festival, a week-long celebration that features a prestigious hula competition, and they worried they wouldn’t stay awake through the six hours of music and performances.
But as the drums echoed and the sound of ukuleles and guitars drifted through the air, “we sat there just entranced on those two nights,” Mapou said.
He began playing Hawaiian music on the guitar and would later buy his first ukulele at an arts festival now known as the Strathmore UkeFest in Bethesda, Maryland, near where he works as a neuropsychologist.
Then, during the pandemic, Mapou realized he could use his ukulele playing to do something positive for his friends and people in his community.
He started recording different variations of the song “Happy Birthday” on the ukulele and would send a video to each of his Facebook friends as they marked another year around the sun. By late March, he had recorded more than 360 videos.
It was a perfect project for 2020 when many people were searching for connection.
“I’ve just been really touched by a lot of these responses that I’ve gotten,” Mapou said. “And (if) someone says you’ve brought a smile to my face, then I’ll respond to them and say, ‘OK my job here is done for the day.’”
SPREADING JOY
It all started last summer when Mapou’s cousin reached out and asked if people would send “happy birthday” wishes to her father who was turning 90.
Ever since, Mapou has recorded different versions of the traditional birthday song for each of his more than 800 Facebook friends, sometimes creating as many as five videos a day.
These birthday videos have been brightening up Facebook pages across the country.
One colleague called Mapou after viewing his birthday video and said it brought tears to her eyes.
Another friend, who Mapou has known since he was a teenager, told him that was probably the first time someone serenaded him on his birthday since he was 15 years old.
A colleague on the West Coast had been facing some health challenges when she saw Mapou’s birthday greeting on Facebook.
“Her response was, ‘I’m smiling, which I haven’t done much of lately,’” Mapou recalled.
It’s these types of reactions that make the pursuit so rewarding.
“That’s the goal,” he said, “to just bring some happiness to people.”
BRINGING A PIECE OF HAWAII TO DELAWARE
After taking many trips to Hawaii and performing in two different Hawaiian music groups, Mapou’s love for the culture is evident in more than just the scenic photos hanging on the walls in his Rehoboth Beach home.
He will often open his “happy birthday” videos with the comical greeting: “Aloha from the island of Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.”
(He admits that his initial videos drew some inspiration from the musical stylings of Bill Murray on Saturday Night Live).
A peek into his wardrobe, and Mapou has collected 40 Aloha, or Hawaiian, shirts. He sports the often floral and patterned attire in his videos and sometimes even while he is working at his neuropsychology practice in Lewes and Rehoboth Beach.
His ukulele collection has also grown over the years. And with each of his seven instruments comes a story of where it came from, how it sounds and how it looks different from the others.
THE NEXT GIG
Mapou said he will likely finish out the full year of birthday songs. He eventually hopes to perform at open mics again and maybe even book some gigs as live performances return to the Delaware beaches.
As his day job, Mapou continues to split his time between neuropsychological practices in Chevy Chase, Maryland, and Rehoboth Beach. In this work, he often evaluates young adults who may have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, developmental disabilities or other neurological conditions.
He said he is only one of two board-certified neuropsychologists in Delaware, and the only one in the county.
“There’s a part of me that wants to retire. I’m at the age that my father retired, but at the same time, there’s a real (need),” Mapou said. “Sussex County is underserved in terms of any sort of mental health services.
And while his work in neuropsychology diverges from his latest musical pursuit, in each role, Mapou seems to pursue a common goal.
“I like being able to help people,” he said.
And if that means bringing a smile to someone’s face, he knows he has at least achieved that over this past year.
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