four year old boy from Pleasant Valley, MD
plays Christmas gift from the raccoon editor in the annual yuletide name drawing. Your editor got the name of his mother, Deanna, but she was willing to share the intricate device.
We had a feeling that Noah and his brother little David would log some horn time on Christmas Day, and maybe plenty of other times as well.
Made from two gourds glued together where Noah's left hand holds the instrument, the seam ringed by decorative copper, it looks something like a ram's horn. We drilled a hole at the end and stuck a cornet mouthpiece into it. Thus with proper changing of embouchure - which trombonist Uncle Justin can show the boys - they may soon be playing 'Melancholy Baby' or 'Maryland My Maryland'.
Noah's father Luke, below, stands in the kitchen doorway at Noah's great-grandparent's house just down Hughes Shop Road . An imposing but gentle giant, our nephew is a hairy fellow, like his grandfather, John. See Luke's legs.
When Luke played high school football, at the time that this picture was taken a few years ago, a teammate shaved a vivid 'W' into his thick back fur. 'W' for Westminster. It was quite readable.
