In case you’re not familiar with the song, “Kitten on the Keys,” given it dates back to 1921 and the period’s ragtime craze, here’s a link so you can enjoy it.

I sure wish I could play the piano like that! Amazing what trained fingers can do!

My keyboarding skills are directed toward the one attached to my computer. And I must say, I’m good at it. I learned to touch type when I was around 12 years old on an old manual typewriter. I always wanted to be a writer, so it made sense.

Later, after graduating high school and looking for a job, I did a timed writing on an IBM Selectric typewriter at an employment agency where I clocked 94 words per minutes for ten minutes with only two errors. I can even type while carrying on a conversation, which even amazes me. How can fingers operate independently from the conscious mind? Seriously, I could copy a document while talking to someone.

Maybe it’s my super power, who knows?

But that’s not what this blog is about. As always, I tend to digress.

After I moved from Texas to New York and was getting my computer set up again, I decided my keyboard looked a little grungy, so I should probably clean it. It looked as if there was some debris underneath, so I got out the toothpicks to see what I could dig out. It didn’t take long to discover there was a whole lot more lurking in there than expected.

At a certain point, the toothpicks were inadequate, so I got out a metal shish kabob skewer. I’m not sure how long it took me, but it was well over an hour, maybe two. By the time I was done, here’s what I had.

Okay, I’d had that keyboard for a long time, possibly a decade. My little furbaby, Ophelia, never actually slept on it like some cats do, since my computer hutch has a keyboard tray that tucked it away when I wasn’t using it. However, when I was at work typing away at lightning speed, Ophie would often sit on my lap or walk (or sleep) in front of the monitor, as any cat owner will find familiar.

I had no idea there was that much space under there.

Needless to say, the keyboard functions much better now for some reason.

I don’t know if this is a cautionary tale (cat tail, perhaps?) or a heads-up that you might want to see what’s hidden in yours. Somewhere to direct your next cleaning frenzy, if you’re prone to such things.

No telling what you’ll find.

Maybe the keyboard is that proverbial “safe place” where all those things you’ve secured over the years have disappeared? Unfortunately, all I found in mine was cat hair, though a few things in that “safe place” did show up after the move.