What happened to Tiger?

 

In the early 60s, I was living in Germany as my first husband did his obligatory military service in an Army band. I was lucky to have a job on the base nursery school teaching three-year-olds. 

I loved it and I loved them all: Robin with the big bow in her hair, shy Dawn, poor allergy-suffering Ernie, best-mates and almost hyper active Brett and Dirk to name a few.

After Christmas, a new little boy called Tiger enrolled, a beautiful boy with almost white blond hair cut Beatle-style before the Beatles were the Beatles. He had blue-eyes with lashes so long that they might be considered fake - but they weren't.

I've never met a child quite like him. He was what they might call an old soul. When we colored, his drawings were realistic and he combined colors and added shadows. At one point he asked if the music we played at rest time could be Bach, "The best music." 

At the same time he was still a little boy sometimes joining Brett-Dirk games, but when he did, their games became more complicated.

His mother was a newlywed and writer from New York City, married for the second time to a Lieutenant. She did not fit in with the other Army wives, doing only the minimum social things required. 

I had tea and/or wine with her where we talked about her writing and my desire to write. She guided me to authors, most of whom could be found in the base library. We discussed their styles. We discussed her frustration with Army life, but considered it worth it to live in Europe.

There was a new teacher at the school in September. I returned to the States and picked up on my interrupted college education, closing the door of the Army experience. 

Although I wonder periodically what happened to all "my kids" I'm most curious about Tiger.  Fat? Bald? Did he become an artist? Did the 60s have a major influence on him and if so how? Is he even still alive?

I'll never know.