Have you seen my friends?  I’ve been here many years, playing a beautiful melody beside the lovely pond at Presbyterian College and, up until recently, I was part of a talented trio.  It appears that one night after I had dozed off, my partners disappeared.  My only true friends in the world, gone!  But I play on, determined to bring joy to the many creatures that pass by me every day.

Oh I’m sorry, have we not been properly introduced?  My name is Freddy the Frog and I consider myself to be one of the premier trumpet playing frogs in South Carolina.  I’ve been in the music business for over twelve years now.  From my humble tadpole beginnings, I was known to be a talented musician, entertaining the reptilian royalty all across the pond.  As I grew older and began to experiment with more controversial musical styles, my parents were upset and felt that I was wasting my talents in the way that a classically trained opera singer who switches to rap would be considered to have wasted talent.  I traveled the world, visiting many ponds of all shapes and sizes and was blessed to meet so many other talented musicians during my fifteen minutes of fame.  Once I realized that my all-star lifestyle was not going to last forever, I decided to try and find a way to settle down and start to earn a safe and steady income. It was then that I found myself here at PC.

In the latter years of my fame, I had begun to tour with my froggy friends Sally, who played the saxophone, and Jordan, who played the fiddle.  We weren’t nearly as popular as a group as I was on my own, and I know they only brought me down, but I enjoyed hanging out with those two.  But now they’re gone.  You might think that I would enjoy being solo once again, reliving the glory days, but in reality, I don’t have the skills that used to have the female frogs croaking over me.  It’s become a lonely life out here on my little peninsula as geese fly and students walk on by my performance.  I often wonder how Sally and Jordan could have even left me, as they bolted us down right after our first gig on campus and I haven’t been allowed to move since.

Have you seen my friends?  They both look remarkably similar to me, frogs standing on two legs and playing an instrument.  Is there a reward for their return?  Nothing other than the sweet, sweet sound of our bullfrog band being reunited once again.  Until then, I will continue to crank out the tunes for you, PC.  Come visit me once in a while, I won’t bite, promise.