Well, up close she looks pretty ungainly.

I forgot to mention the rehearsal last Wednesday, or actually, I only mentioned it in passing. There was a little girl there and her mother and the other two women were busy decorating her birthday cake. She was turning 4 years old. Her name is Tara.

She is typical of almost-4-year-old children. She is a bundle of energy and cute as a button. It's been years since I was able to play with a little kid and it brought back memories of how easy it is to fool them and make them laugh.

Here's a trick for all parents and grandparents of little kids. It's a game I invented and we call it Waterhole (Actually in kidspeak it's "waddyhole"). You place the child on your knees seated sideways so her legs dangle down beside your left or right leg. Then you tell her the story of the waterhole and all the animals who come to drink there. And when you use the word waterhole you open your knees and drop her into the waterhole. Of course, you make sure you don't do that EVERY time you use the word and the anticipation and the story will reward you with gales of laughter. Warning: Be prepared to do this for hours on end once you start it.