Deacon

About the Book

This is a true story based on my experiences with my beloved cat, Deacon. He was not an ordinary cat; instead, he was a little person clothed in cat fur that I adored. He was my constant companion during the turbulent years of my preadolescent and adolescent years. What’s in a name? In the beginning of Creation, God gave Adam, the first man, a job to do: To name each and every animal and bird on earth. Long ago, when I was a child, I read a quotation from one of Mark Twain’s books. He said that Adam called a dog a dog because “he looked like a dog.” As a little girl, I thought that this was very funny. To my readers, I ask the same question. How would you decide to go about this. I will give you a thought to consider from a cat’s point of view. In the beginning, the animal told about in this story had no name. Some called him a feline; others, a pest. When he met Adam, he was nameless but determined to be given a name worthy of his own kind (Gen. 2:19–20). With great curiosity, he approached Adam. Sniffing and looking all around to make sure he was safe, he finally seated himself beside this first man. Adam looked him over carefully; he liked his friendly attitude and curiosity that made Adam want to pet him. But, this animal had a mind of his own; he could be temperamental. His name should be cat, a name that has fit him through the ages. This is how his name came about: C = curiosity A = attitude T = temperament ________________ CAT My only exaggeration in this entire tale is when I tell about Deacon crying, tears flowing down his face. To a little emotional girl of eight, she imagined her Deacon did shed a few tears of love, of course! I am letting Deacon tell his own story: he is the protagonist. This is a wonderful story to read to a young child before bedtime or for a middle school student to read to himself/herself. Deacon will capture your imagination with his adventures and shenanigans!

About the Author

This true autobiographical story tells of Marguerite, a young mother stricken with a paralytic stroke that almost took her life and left her with a permanently paralyzed left side. When the mother of three children was finally able to return home, after a year's absence, she wanted to resume the career that she once loved, teaching children the piano. She was an accomplished pianist herself, having studied since early childhood. In the several years prior to her stroke, she had studied with Siegfried Schultze, a world-famous concert pianist. He had greatly enlarged her musical world, and she was prepared to give a concert in August of 1967, only two weeks before her stroke. After she had recovered, as much as was possible, she longed to pursue her musical interests. Not knowing how, she consulted Siegfried, who suggested that she return to teaching children. He offered to show her a method to teach, using only one hand. As she returned to teaching, the children flocked to her studio. Soon she had an enormous teaching load but loved every moment. Fast forwarding to the nineties, Marguerite had worked so hard teaching that she began to have serious back problems. A series of major orthopedic surgeries left her unable to walk, being confined to a wheelchair. As an eighty-four-year-old woman, Marguerite believes music continues to be a major component of her life. Her book would be of interest to any reader who loves history of great composers and musicians of our times, both past and present. From all of these medical thorns, Marguerite and her family have closely bonded. She and her husband, Jerry, are active Christians and hope that the thorns in their lives have helped them to grow into the likeness of Christ.