Is this thing on?We have a kitty cat at the daycare. Talisha, a former exchange student, dubbed her "Rejula." I was told it is Swahili or some such for "sandpaper tongue." I thought it a superior and fitting name for a cat.As everything gets adapted to the children’s whims at daycare, the cat is called, in its entirety, the name given to her by the little imps: Reji Rejula Sandpaper Tongue Kitty. It is called across the house, down the stairs and out the doors in full voice approximately 73 times per day.Reji (what I choose to call her) was a give-away kitten from a rummage sale in the fall of 2004. She was meant to be a barn cat, as we are always in need of a good mouser on the farm.We brought three kittens home that day with the idea that they would live in the barn and do what cats are supposed to do. The two bigger dark calicos immediately took to their new home and did well there. Unfortunately, Reji, a gray and black tiger, developed a cough, and Doug said we needed to take her in the house, for he feared for her life.Our indoor cat at the farm house, Shadow, a cat very loving to adults but quite crotchety to other animals, would have none of it.I took Reji to the daycare house to nurse her back in shape and the rest is history. Our free kitten regained her health, got a glorious name and soon became a $225 cat after the vet bills for shots, spaying and declawing.Rejula was a well-behaved, albeit playful kitten, and has matured into a great and loving cat. The children have never been allowed to pick her up or carry her in any fashion, as that is a task reserved for grown-ups. I believe animals become wary of humans by being dropped or squished by small hands and I wanted to avoid this with her.As a result, Reji adores the daycare children and their respective parents and must be at the door to greet them all every morning.I have been doing daycare for over 20 years and a search through stacks of old records reveals that 138 children have crossed my path in one way or another — some for as little as two days and some from birth through today. I was shocked at the number and shaken that I could not put faces with a couple of the names.In my years of tending the young, I have taken to weaving tales from the threads of my imagination for my brood. My husband and our own children will attest that there are a multitude of these innocent little stories.I have heard from my kids of the past that these tales have made great and lasting memories. I hope that one day they will be passed along to their own kids.These little tales and tricks have become ceremony in our daily daycare practice. They are numerous but I would like to share one with you today.I played a harmless trick on my little tykes involving Reji one day that has become an ongoing rite. I took a pocket tape recorder and recorded my voice singing a ditty. I can’t even remember what it was.I turned up the volume, hid the player under the cat and played it back loudly as I sang softly into the end of Reji’s tail. Their little mouths dropped open in amazement.I explained that every once in a while God grants that some very exceptional cats get a microphone in the end of their tails. Our Reji is just such a special cat. These unusual devices only work on very extraordinary occasions and we never know when they might occur, so we are to check, at least once a day, to see if it is working.We are to gently grasp the near end of Reji’s tail, blow into the end twice and say, "Is this thing on? Is this thing on?" If it works, they are to let me know right away as it must be a very out-of-the-ordinary day and we should celebrate. There have been several false alarms and that microphone has yet to work again.Now in order to perform such a test, the children are instructed that they must have reached at least the age of four, as our Reji needs a gentle touch and little kids don’t understand that. They must also never try this with a strange cat, as ordinary cats don’t always take kindly to this technical stuff.Reji has adopted this ritual as common practice and actually seems to enjoy it. I wonder what goes through her mind.I bet many people wonder what goes through mine as well.Regardless, we check this cat’s tail religiously to see if it will be an out-of-the-ordinary day.As all the children come and go, I want each one to learn and know there can be magic wherever you look, and closing the gate is like closing a book. Story ideas or comments can be e-mailed to Nancy at Nancy861@msn.com or called in at 962-3411.