Frankly, I love the piano and have never really seen myself playing anything else. But something interesting did happen yesterday that has Burnell wondering – and yes, I admit to a slight glimmer of interest as well. It involves what I’m laying on in the above photograph (taken by my chief photographer, name starts with a B). Anyway, would you care to guess what magical thing lies within that dark and mysterious case? A guitar? Mandolin? Nope. It’s a baritone ukulele (pronounced oo-koo-lay-lay) – an instrument that Betsy gave Burnell for his recent 60th birthday.

So, there he was playing it yesterday and I just happened to walk by minding my own business, of course, when he held the ukulele down to me so that the sound hole was near my head and he plucked a few strings further up the neck. Wow! It sounded so cool and I immediately began rubbing my head on the strings to better feel the vibrations, kind of like when I lay my head on the piano keys after I play a few notes. Then one of the strings buzzed against one of my teeth. That felt weird, but I liked it. It changed the sound. So guess what I did next? And this part really seemed to surprise and please Burnell: I tried to pluck the string with my teeth. I think if I practiced some more, I might even be able to make a sound like Burnell did. I certainly hope he lets me try again. The problem is that unlike the piano, which is always open for me to play, his ukulele is kept hidden away in this dark and mysterious case when he’s not playing it.

Maybe if I keep using the case as a snuggy spot, he’ll let me try plucking the strings again. I certainly hope so.