My frequent partner-in-crime Chad McAnally (MACK-a-NAL-ly, if you were wondering) and I recently had the opportunity to play for a large and appreciative audience of kindergarteners and gradeschoolers, including two of my own three youngsters. It was pleasant and satisfying - tunes, songs, discussion of instruments and history, and answering a lot of good questions from enthusiastic kids; all the things I enjoy about school performances. I was pleasantly surprised by the grasp that this bunch had of geography and similar instruments to the traditional Irish/Scottish ones that we brought along, and it turns out that at least one student there may have had an unusual advantage. Here's how that came to light...

Kevin O’Connor at KBEM invited me in to guest co-host his weekly Celtic music program, Celtic Nation, last week and again this week. (It airs Saturdays, 12:00 to 2:00 PM Central, 88.5 FM or streaming here.) It's been a really fun opportunity to share - and chat about - some of my favourite music.

Before going in last week, I learned that Kevin's daughter had just been in and out of the hospital with appendicitis. When I mentioned this in my own daughter’s hearing, she perked up and, in her usual eagerly tangential way, immediately started talking about her friend with the same name. Since she’s young enough to be confused about different people with the same first name, I rather tiredly began explaining to her that it was a fairly common name in the Irish community and that this was someone we hadn’t met.

She, in turn, insisted that I must be talking about her classmate who got very sick, and for whom the class had made cards. She had been worried and was relieved to learn that her friend was home from the hospital.

She was, of course, right.

It was a good reminder that it doesn't always make sense to rule out an unlikely possibility - and that kids sometimes know things their parents don’t. (I think I’ll be listening for a bit longer before I “correct” my daughter in the future.)

Of course, it can work the other way too. I mentioned the coincidence to Kevin, who was as surprised as I was. Our neighbourhoods are a good way apart (roughly on opposite corners of Minneapolis) so having kids in the same class wouldn't normally register as a possibility.  In fact, when he called his daughter to tell her that his studio guest was her friend's dad, she was - naturally - certain that he was pulling her leg.