Confused,
aren’t you? Let me explain. U is the name of a manatee.
I
love manatees. They’re peaceful, gentle, and beautiful. I think I saw my first
one at Epcot Center, in their Living Seas exhibit. I bored my parents to death
with the amount of time I wanted to spend in that place.
Years
later, I took John to Disney and Epcot, and inevitably we ended up at the
Living Seas. He hid his boredom better, at least. At the end of the day, I
found a stuffed manatee in the gift shop. This thing was about 3 feet in
length, and I just had to have it! Yes, I realize I’m a grown woman who is
professing a need for buying a stuffed animal. But if Laurell Hamilton (and
Anita Blake!) can like stuffed penguins, I can have manatees.
 |
| Tee, Manny, U, and Herb |
So
I go home with the 3-foot manatee, who gets named Tee. It’s natural, then for
the next manatee, a much smaller one, to be named U. And later, a tiny 6 inch
long manatee named V. V, unfortunately, got lost in an Atlantic City hotel room,
and was replaced by Manny. Don’t look at me - I didn’t name him. He came
with his name already on his tag. And last but not least, my Toasty Manatee, an
aromatherapy animal filled with herbs I can nuke in the microwave to make it
nice and warm. Great for muscle aches! This one is named Herb. Campy, I know,
but I just HAD to!
There
you have it, the story of why U is for manatee. (This is perhaps the silliest
blog I’ve written this month!)
I’m
heading out of town today for a writer’s conference in Salem this weekend, and somewhere along the
way, we’ll be checking out an aquarium. I wonder if I’ll come home with any new
manatees?
