Please tell me that isn’t my high school math teacher who played the piano for the young girl? It was a horrible rendition.  I think he should stick to what he knows best. That would be Math. Someone should give him piano lessons.  Then maybe, just maybe, it would not make my ears hurt when he plays.

I know a way they could help each other. The young girl is having a challenging time understanding math, so he could tutor her. Knowing that the math teacher isn’t any good on the piano, and seeing the young girl perform once before, she could teach him how to play at least this one song correctly and in tune.

Today the young girl will be entering her first Math Competition after several months of being tutored. We all wish her well, and Mr. Brand will be sitting in the front row watching.

Principal Davis asks the young girl, “What is five times five?”

She promptly answers with a smile, “That would be twenty-five.”

When it was all done, the young girl had won Second Prize.  Mr. Brand was so proud of her that he took her and her parents out for a treat at the local coffee shop.

One month later, Mr. Brand was scheduled to play a piece on the piano for the same local Community Group. The young girl had taught him to correctly play ‘Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, the song he tried and failed to do last time. The young girl was so happy that Mr. Brand did it correctly and in tune. Everyone clapped afterward. The young girl was scheduled to perform next.

She sat down on the bench, all of ten years old, flexed her long fingers and began to play Claude Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1 with conviction.  Mr. Brand, having never heard her play, was mesmerized by her talent.  Had he known she was so accomplished, he would never have tried to shield her from the embarrassment that day. Him believing that someone so young would never be able to play the piano well.

Always stick to what you know best and never assume anyone is less accomplished in what they are attempting to do. The young girl will never become a wiz at math, but that is okay. Mr. Brand will never become a great pianist, but that too is okay. We all have our own unique skills and age should never be seen as a barrier.

On the day Smudge went missing.  Calls went out, “Smudge, Sweetie, please come out from your hiding place.  Your Mummy misses you.”

Nothing, no meow, no feeling of snuggling on a leg.  Sheer sadness ensued.  Where could that silly cat be? Smudge never went outside, never crossed the doorway, but today she bolted out the open back door.

Smudge, when I look at her, sports attitude.  She is independent and sassy in the way she moves or snuggles.  All will be lost if Smudge isn’t found.  Who will there be to pet, or talk to, or share innermost thoughts with?  Life will never be the same.

“Think positive thoughts, never give up.”  That’s what Mrs. Calm always says.

How does a person do that in a time of so much stress? Must try and follow her words while looking for the one who keeps my world level most days.

The search was widened to include the nearby farms and especially the barns. Maybe Smudge heard the cry of a friend who was in danger and went to help.  Is that even possible? Of course, it is. Animals listen to things that humans do not.

After two long days, scouring more than five miles of land and buildings, I laid eyes on her.  Smudge was in Mr. Tubbs hayloft lying next to an injured kitten who had been bullied by the others. Whenever he tried to get close, she would hiss and circle her paws around the baby.

Mr. Tub finally was able to put both into a nearby kennel, and they were taken home.  Two cats now live in this house. Smudge and her adopted son Trigger, who today, are bonding with this pitiful specimen of a human.