Blame it on the Mermaid
Woman in the Middle | November 17, 2014When I six years old we moved to a new house. The neighbors on one side of us were an older couple who had never had any children. They were both very nice people but it was Mrs. McNamara who I was especially drawn to. There was an entire room in her house devoted just to her doll collection. OMG! One had a face that looked just like my beloved Tiny Sue! She did interesting things like put leftover string and yarn outside for the birds to make nests with and made something called a “mock apple pie” with Ritz crackers that tasted just like apple pie. My mom and I had never had anything like it in our lives. She mixed scrambled eggs and sliced green olives and mayonnaise and put it on bread for a sandwich. You should try it, it is delicious! Her house was a paradise to a little girl and I thought she was a goddess of goodness and wonderment. How lucky I was when we moved in next door.
This wonderful neighbor’s name was Ariel. I had never heard of that name before and thought it was lovely. I thought it was so lovely that I always kept that name in the back of my mind, just in case I had a little girl….Then 25 years ago today, a little over two months before I was to have my first child, the Disney movie, the Little Mermaid, came out. That little red-headed half-fish was called “Arielle.” And just like that, Disney crushed my plans. I did not want to spend my daughter’s childhood explaining that she was not named after a Disney character. Besides. Ariel went from being an obscure, old-fashioned name to being everywhere. There were lots of moms who had no qualms naming their daughters after a Disney movie.
I couldn’t name a daughter after dear Mrs. McNamara but I will certainly never forget her. And I will also never forget how Disney crushed my plans!
Awww! I know a girl named Ariadne. I think that is lovely too but have never had a daughter. Ah well.
Disney tends to commercialize things too much; I don’t blame you for not wanting to name one of your daughters after one of their heavily advertised characters.