I've seen some familiar names in the obits this past year, such as my 5th grade teacher. (And yes, this gets me, especially since the Cat enters 5th grade this fall.) Last week, the name that caught my eye with a little tug in my tummy was the man who handed the Cat his violin at the beginning of the school year. He shuffled into the back room to get a sponge and some rosin while my son beamed. It was from his shop that I rented the clarinet that I used back in my own 4th grade instrumental music class. I bought piano sheet music from him and purchased some of my first cassette tapes for my excellent boombox.

Ironically enough, right as I learned of the shop owner's passing, our school-year rental contract expired. It was time for us to return the violin. But the Cat had already made it clear that it is his violin. His hope is that we'll eventually purchase the instrument, although I figure if we do that he'd immediately be big enough for the next size up. In any case, since he is taking summer lessons, an extension of the rental was in order. A very young man helped us while I tried not to stare at the large photo of the original owner displayed prominently on the wall.

The Cat had his first summer lesson just a couple days ago and pronounced it "awesome." Awesome.