Not unlike the talk shows that invite animals and their trainers to visit their sets, some of my most memorable times feature unusual encounters with pets, too.

 
In my first year of teaching, I was especially gracious. Never did I voice even the most heartfelt distaste for my surroundings. I was, after all, trying to build a clientele. So, when my assigned seat at a new student's house was between the gorgeous antique upright and Tiki-the-Gerbil's cage, I smiled warmly and simply said, "Thank you!"

With the concentration of a chess master in the final round of play, I locked my eyes on the music, my student, and the majestic piano and tried valiantly to go to that special place in my mind where no rodents can get me.

As Tiki loudly rooted around in her wood chips, I exclaimed to my student, "Oooh! Wonderful phrasing there! And what perfect fingering you used!" And, as fur flew hither and yon from little Tiki as she frolicked on her exercise wheel, I smiled and encouraged, "Yes! You made that one sound like a real song! Great work!" But soon Tiki was standing on her back legs and holding onto the rungs of the cage like a convict at mail call. With her tiny white claws bulging beneath their flesh, she began squealing rhythmically as my student played Ode To Joy. Finally, I could take no more.

"Oh dear," said I, with a smile that belied the revulsion that was turning to magma-like bile in my throat, "Tiki's making it a little hard for me to concentrate here. Is there someplace else she can go until your lesson's over?"

"Oh, sure!" said my helpful little musician and popped her, at once, into a translucent yellow ball that was then set upon the floor.

Ah, the joy Tiki experienced for the remainder of the lesson time as she, encapsulated in her little yellow bubble, did doughnuts all around my dancing feet.

Lesson: There are times when fifteen minutes is an absolute eternity.

NEXT TIME: A parrot with flight privileges in the home