The Hillhouse

Elihu and I knew he would perform at his school’s talent show. I wondered what he could do; my first choice was his busking-inspired djembe bit. That was too informal for his taste. From the start he knew what he would do. He wanted to play drums and sing. A snare and a cymbal would get the point across just fine. He knew all the polkas well… Roll Out The Barrel and The Happy Wanderer were good choices. And the embedded one-liners were his choice too. Clad in an Austrian peasant shirt his father brought back from a European tour, he belts out the tunes and jokes without missing a beat – in spite of failing microphones. This kid is a showman, and his mama is proud indeed. The Catskills got nothin on the Adirondacks!