The Happy Failure

It had been expected since his birth that he would follow in the footsteps of his father, mother, sister Irene and his elder brother Sheldon to play the piano. His father and mother had met on the concert tour, His mother had been a prodigy from the age of six, his father had composed his first major work when only eleven.

When they married and continued to preform, he with the baton, she on stage playing his brilliant arrangements, the people of the world knew they were in the presence of genius.

When Irene was born she was a gift from the gods. She sat on a piano bench next to her mother and by the age of four she had mastered the instrument to the point that she was booked in the great houses of Europe to see this small genius, the revues in the newspapers of the day called he the future of classical music.

Two years after Irene preformed her first recital she shared the love of her parents with Sheldon. the scales were played to him as a lullaby and his proud father bragged that he could play before he could walk, an exaggeration of course, but when young Sheldon could walk he often waddled, diapers be damned to the piano.

When Sheldon was five he joined his sister on stage, they would often preform the same intricate works in perfect harmony, the world could hardly wait until the last of the children, a precocious red head his proud parents named Leopold.

Leopold, like his older siblings was raised with all of the advantages of classical music. His mother would walk him to sleep when his colic flared gently singing lullaby's from the opera's that she loved. It seemed to soothe the boy and his father was sure that he had another budding genius to add to the family legend.

When the piano was presented to Leopold to play on his third birthday the solid boy happily pounded down on the black and white ivory keys with vigor and unbounded enthusiasm, but with no talent at all, the noise was painful for his father and mother and his siblings.

His father, being a practical man decided that he had rushed the boy, after all he was only three and it was in his blood to play the instrument, he would allow Leopold the time to be a child, he would let a full two years pass before he would test him again, the busy family schedule of concerts and performances was taking a toll on the family, they would vacation for a full summer, the tutors were sent away, they would walk the hills of Austria looking for inspiration, the fresh air and sunshine a tonic for all of their nerves.

Once again Leopold was asked to sit in front of the piano, once again he was able to pound the keys of the instrument to his hearts content, once again the noise was an affront to his family. He was sent out to play, there were some children in the next estate who were playing a game of football, perhaps the running after the soccer ball would temper the boisterous spirit of Leopold.

The family vacation over, it was time once again to attend the capitols of Europe, but what to do with Leopold. He was of age to attend school, and questions were now being asked by an inquisitive press when Leopold would make his debut. His father decided then and there that Leopold would attend a boarding school, he would benefit from a more structured regime, and he would of course insist that his son be given piano lessons.

It was hard on Leopold and his mother to be separated, they both cried when he was admitted to the school. His father was guilty about prying them apart, his wife continued to cry as he drove away, he looked in the rearview mirror as they drove away, Leopold was holding the hand of a stern looking woman who was mistress of the dormitory he would stay in.

The concert tour was a complete success. Irene was now a young lady, a star in her own right, and Sheldon was now composing as well. His mother played his first composition to a standing ovation. His father, now showing grey highlights in his hair had helped with the melodies with the strings and woodwinds, it was a family triumph.

They all wrote long letters to Leopold, along with the newspaper clippings telling of the families success. Leopold took the newspaper pictures of his family and used a scotch tape dispenser to hold them to the wooden head of his bed, he could look upon his family every night before going off to sleep.

The summer holiday again was a family affair. As much as they wanted to be together at Christmas they had to leave Leopold at the school, a quarantine was in effect because of mumps, Leopold was stricken and the family was travelling to Moscow to preform in the new year, they sent his presents and letters, he wrote back saying he was now playing the guitar, his father was somewhat satisfied that his son was taking up an instrument, he would look forward to the summer holiday to hear his son play.

The holiday started well, the family was back together, Leopold had grown, his report card was a glowing tribute to his father's idea of sending the boy there, even his mother was impressed by the grades her youngest posted. And when he brought out the acoustical and played a simple tune the family tried to ignore the mistakes that he made, they all applauded and then his father sent him out to play football again, resigning himself to the fact that his son had no talent.

The years past with the core of the family traveling the world, Leopold grew to be a young man at school, a proud individual, liked by his schoolmates and instructors as well. As he grew in size so did his skill on the pitch, he was the star of his school team, when he was sixteen he was voted to captain the team, the youngest captain in the schools history.

He had to miss that summer vacation, he was asked to play football for his country in an under eighteen tournament that was to be held in the United States. His mother reluctantly signed the permission slip, her husband, Leopold's father had a mild heart attack, so she told her husband that Leopold was on a school outing and they would see him the last week of the summer.

Leopold was brilliant, that is what the papers said as he showed a combination of speed and ball handling that had the professional teams scouting the tournament offering him contracts to turn professional as soon as her turned of age. His picture was plastered on the pages around the world, they even mentioned that his family did not come from a sporting background and his abilities were God given.

The last week of the summer had the family reunited. His father was grey and weak, Leopold had been shielded from his father's sickness, he was openly upset. His father asked him to play the piano, and he did so, remembering his school lessons, the simple piece that he played brought tears to his father's eyes.

They stayed an extra month, Leopold attended the local school to keep up with his lessons, and at the end of the month his father was recovered enough to once again manage the musical talents of his family on the world stage. They decided to travel by train, it would take them right by the school Leopold attended. They would see him off, he only had one more year of the private school in any case, he had been promoted once at eleven.

When they arrived at the train station a hoard of reporters rushed forward. His father thought that they were there to interview him as word of his heart condition might have leaked out. When he was brushed aside and the reporters pressed around Leopold the whole family was surprised. They heard words like world cup and when was he going to turn professional. A smiling Leopold told them that he would discuss this all with his family and would love to play for his country in the next world cup if they wanted him. He pointed with pride to his family, noting that they were all famous people in their own rights, the reporters, sensing a story outside of the sports pages asked a few polite questions and pressed on with more questions for Leopold.

It was finally time to board the train, the family had two compartments to themselves. Leopold was asked by his father, in a demanding tone to tell him what that was all about, did he honestly think that chasing a ball around a grass field was what the best education in the world was what his father had in mind when he sent him away to school.

"You will break your mother's heart, if you insist on playing this game of yours you will be a failure, do you want that?'

"Father, it is what I want, and if you feel that I will be a failure for international fame and more money in one year than the whole family will make in their lifetimes upon the stage, Father, as much as I love you, and I do love you, I will be a happy failure."