26 January 2010

Predictable and Literal

A few months ago, Eric and I decided to give our nieces and nephews "pope names," which we have posted on our family blog. (Examples of pope names: Katy the Incorruptible, Joseph the Jovial; Caleb the Gregarious.) While trying to come up with one adjective for each of our ten nieces and nephews on his side, we enlisted the help of his sister and her husband. Our discussion soon turned to appropriate pope names for the adults in the family as well. The only one I remember is the one that Matt created for me:

Sherry the Literal

Appropriate, no?

Last week some time I was thinking about how people often use the word "literally" incorrectly, and this led me to remember my pope name. Then I started thinking about how I am the epitome of an open book. Matt had almost no problem coming up with one word to describe me and my personality. Because it's not just the fact that I am very literal, but that I will also correct you when you are not. For example, if you tell me "one minute," I might time you. If you don't mean "one minute," then you should say something else that means "shortly." This train of thought led me to this memory:

Sophomore year of college I was playing games with roommates, and maybe other people in our apartment. Janssen was wearing a Halloween shirt, but it wasn't Halloween season, and I told her so. She reached into her pocket and handed me a piece of paper that said, "Sherry will be the first person to point out my Halloween shirt." (Or something to that effect. Correct me if I'm mistaken in my memory, Janssen.) She had put that slip of paper in her pocket when she put her shirt on.

Which makes me wonder - should my pope name be Sherry the Literal or Sherry the Predictable?

4 comments:

Janssen said...

I totally forgot about that story. Which is tragic, because it is a highlight in my life.

Jenn said...

I propose Sherry the Forthright.

Angela said...

Yet another occasion where Janssen has done something I would do.

I like "Sherry the Literal"...

I would also like you to conjure my pope name.

Go.

John said...

As I read this, I was reminded of what a challenging little girl you were.