Buttons, Peanut, Pickles and a Monkey

I remember waking up with my mom looking down at me. “Time to get up”, she would say. It was a warm morning, I could see the rays of sun on the wall behind her. The aroma of the lilac bush was coming in the bedroom window. I asked her not to be mad but I had a question.

That morning I asked her if I could change my name and that I wanted a monkey. I told her I would never ask for anything for my birthday or Christmas again if I got a monkey. My friend had a monkey named Freddy, I was afraid of Freddy but I still wanted a monkey. If I had a monkey it would wear a diaper and I would dress it in clothes.

My mom asked me why I wanted to change my name. I didn’t really know why. I suppose my answer was – because. She then asked me what I wanted to change my name to. I told her buttons. I think our neighbors had a dog named buttons. She said she would talk to my dad about changing my name, but would not talk to him about the monkey.

That evening she told me I needed to keep my given name. She explained to me that I was named after an actor on a tv show that was about a crew on a submarine. She also told me I could not have a monkey because they are mean. I immediately asked if she liked peanut or pickles better than buttons. She laughed and with that laugh I knew not to ask again. I did ask again and again for a monkey however but that wasn’t in the cards for me either.