Monday, March 30, 2009

Pretty Polly

I admit this is a repeat, but if you don't get a laugh from this one, you're having a really bad day. New ones are coming, be patient.

Hello. My name is Polly and I am very pretty. 

Just say the word, pretty, and you'll know what I look like. I am arm candy and I like it that way. I'm naturally friendly and I've never met anyone who didn't like me. Well, they spent some time with me, anyway, so I assume they liked me. I'm definitely a BFF type. 

I know what you're thinking. How can anyone take someone named, Polly, seriously? Well, for one thing, Nirvana has a song, "Polly" and so did the Kinks. Polly Bergen was a successful actress and singer a long time ago. And sadly, Polly Klaas was murdered. 

Ooooohhh,  don't forget Aunt Polly in "Tom Sawyer."  And, the late great C.S. Lewis' main character in "The Magician's Nephew" is named, guess what, Polly Plummer. That's Plummer, not plumber. 

Okay. I've heard it a thousand times. Polly wanna a cracker. Polly Wolly Doodle. Pollyanna. Polly Put the Teakettle On. It gets really tiresome. FYI: Polly is a Norwegian peanut snack brand. Bet you didn't know that.

We looked up the name, Polly, in Wikipedia today. It says that Polly is a nickname, for girls. I don't claim to be a rocket scientist, but did anyone really think it was a name for boys? 

The name supposedly was derived from the name Molly. In 18th and 19th century New England it was a common nickname for Mary. I mean, if Molly is going to become Polly, then shouldn't Mary become Pary, not Polly? And to make matters worse, the two genetically engineered sheep were named Polly and Molly. 

What is a poor bird like me to do? I'm so lucky to have gorgeous feathers, a sweet disposition, a delicate voice, and well-manicured claws.  I got Latin Love Affair Pink this week, just love it.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

As with the post before, you travel into a depth I can only dream of with my characters. You make is seem so easy, knowing your characters and seeing into their souls.

Blessings,
Terri

Anonymous said...

This is great Lisa. I will always remember my Aunt Polly. I thought it was a southern thing.

Carma
http://carmaswindow.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

As I've almost come to expect with you, things are not always what they seem.
However, I'm especially fond of the name Polly. Without her, my current serial could not work.
Besides Molly transforming into "Polly," I believe it's the basis for the even less likely but equally charming, "Lolly," which is undergoing a resurgence (or perhaps it's a first run in popularity) as the Tribeca, NYC's second favorite baby girl's name, based solely on my random impression. "Bella" seems number one this month.
My mother used to sing, albeit not well, a folk song called, "Polly, Pretty Polly."