What's in a Name?

What's in a Name?


Annabella Elizabeth burst through the front door, flung her back pack onto the couch, just short of hitting the dog, and loudly announced, "I am NOT going to school tomorrow!".

Her grandmother, peeking her head in from the kitchen calmly suggested that Annabella pick up her pack, apologize to Lincoln the dog, calm down and they would discuss the situation.

"Annabella, dear, what is wrong with you?", Gramma inquired, "why the ants in the pants?".

"It's my name, Gramma", Annabella said exasperated. "It is too long to write and the other kids tease me and call me Bella Belly".

"Come and sit with me", motioned Gramma, "we"ll have some Yoo-Hoo and chocolate chip cookies. And then I will tell you a story about someone who REALLY had a problem with their name".

Annabella sighed and rolled her eyes. Gramma always had a story for everything. But she did what she was told and sat in the kitchen next to her Gramma. Annabella really LOVED Yoo-Hoo.

"Once upon a time," started Gramma.

Once upon a time there was a crazy inventor who lived with his very patient wife. Their house was always messy and untidy as he always had papers and tools and bits and pieces of wire, and paint, and wheels and sprockets lying around waiting for him to do his inventing. The inventor's wife loved him dearly and so was patient with his messiness. But the inventor was also very absent-minded and had not much common sense. He was always losing his wallet, or checkbook, or forgetting to pay the bills on time. But his wife forgave him for those things, too.

One day the inventors wife came home from a doctor's visit and announced to her husband that they were going to have a baby. A girl, she announced.

The inventor was so pleased and excited he spent the next months inventing things for his new daughter. He invented a cradle that rocked itself. a baby bottle that heated the milk automatically, and baby diapers that flushed away. His wife was so proud of him.

Soon the day the baby was to come arrived. But to their enormous surprise, not just one baby daughter was born, but FOUR. The new parents were overwhelmed. And then, it occurred to them, in all their excitement and with all the inventing of new baby things they had not thought of a name for their daughter, let alone four names.

Well, the inventor thought and thought, and in a flash declared, "my mother's name was Paula...we will call our daughters Paula.

"All of them?',his wife timidly asked.

"Yep", he boasted, "they will be PJ--Paula Jane, PM--Paula Mary, PS-Paula Sue, and the last one will be PU--Paula Ursula".

And so it was.

Well PJ, PM, and PS did not mind their names so much but poor little PU had a terrible time growing up. Of course she was teased constantly and was called Stinky, Smelly, Skunky and all manner of terrible names.

But she took it all in stride. The teasing made her tougher, stronger, and as stubborn as a mule. When she grew up she became a famous garbage truck driver. She drove at Monster Truck shows and even created her own perfume---called Eau de PU.

Gramma finished the last of her Yoo-Hoo, burped and said, "So you see Annabella Elizabeth,your name isn't so bad after all."

Annabella laughed, and asked, "Is that a true story, Gramma?".

"True enough for you", Gramma winked, "now go do your homework."