from typing import Tuple
from typing import Union


def count_things(collection: Tuple, thing: Union[int, str]) -> int:
    """
    This function counts the number of occurrences of the thing value within the collection parameter.
    :param collection: A tuple containing 0 or more things
    :param thing: An item in the collection parameter
    :return: An integer.
    """
    result = collection.count(thing)
    return result