I’ve been taking piano lessons with this older Russian lady for the last six months. She’s an amazing piano player and often regales me with stories from her childhood in Russia that make me feel guilty for being an American.

Usually when I’m having a lesson she interrupts my playing to ask what I was doing wrong. I’ve learned that no matter what I’m doing, I can usually answer legato and that satisfies her. In my last lesson though, she suddenly told me to stop and looked at me.

I knew it had something to do with World War II, but I suddenly blanked on dates of everything since I was busy trying to play legato, so I said the only thing that came to mind.

Needless to say, I disappointed my piano teacher again, and I’m sure, somewhere out there, a history teacher lost her wings.