Marjorie goes for a walk most every day.  Today she walked down to the mailbox and back.  She brought me the monthly bank statement.  I sat down to balance the checkbook—not my favorite activity.

“Well, Marjorie, after my first attempt to balance the checkbook you'll be happy to know that I'm only $782.99 off.  I don't remember in whose favor it was, but undoubtedly theirs.  I think it's probably your turn to do this.”

“Oh, yeah, that's right up my alley.”

“Sure it is.  Remember how you bailed Mr. Updegraff out back in your high school days?”

“That was a fluke.”

“Tell me about it.”

“Math was never my thing.  It wasn't my mother's forte, either.  I remember going to Mom with some math that I couldn't understand.  She knew how to handle the problem.  Her advice was, 'Oh, don't worry about it.  Just wait awhile.  Pretty soon they'll get on to something else.'

“In my senior year Mr. Updegraff came to me and asked if I'd like to be his assistant for the year.  He picked me out because I was a Hunt.  My cousins Barbara and Marie had been his assistants in other years, so he thought I'd be up to the job.  It was actually fun.  He was the typing teacher, and he also had charge of the school's finances.  For one class each day I entered checks in the check register, and kept running totals of each month's expenses and income.

“I remember going to him and asking about a particular football entry.  It didn't make sense to me.  He explained it, but it still didn't make sense.  I just thought that I wasn't able to understand.

“At the end of the year three accountants from out of town came and poured over the books.  They found a discrepancy.  Mr. Updegraff, the principal, and the vice principal all worked and worked to try to find it.  They all went through everything, but couldn't find it, and the books didn't balance.  It was a huge problem.  One day Mr. Updegraff put the books in front of me and said, 'Why don't you try your luck on it.'

“I remembered the football entry that I couldn't understand.  The discrepancy was the same amount.  I looked up the entry.  I beckoned Mr. Updegraff to come over and pointed it out.  He beamed all over, and rushed to show the principal.  A few minutes later he returned with the principal and vice principal.  The three of them bowed to me.”