Wait, Steve, the Lights Aren't On!

Bare feet on parquet make a peculiar sound. One that's not as familiar now.

It's been a long, long time, I guess about four decades

since I dreamt up a new way to drown them out. They were always

louder on quiet mornings. And mom and dad's bedroom next door made our

early prying a difficult undertaking. Not much for planning, we improvised galore.

We'd make bathroom trips under false pretenses. Check on the cat even though

he was quite vicious. Did you hear that noise? It sure sounded

suspicious. Better check it out in case something's amiss. But