Name:
Location: St. Vincent & Grenadines

You were driving home in the dark on one glass-slippered heel, window sliced open and bathing in the snowliquor of the night air. We heard you singing, and couldn't bear to wake you.

12 April 2006

Beautiful girl.

I was trying to think of a clever pop-cultural connection to make for today's post, but the only song I know that involves the word "Joanna" is that terrible song by Toto that goes "Now she's gone, and I have to say...doo doo, doo doo, doo doo! Need you all the way...doo doo, doo doo, doo doo." You're welcome for that entirely non-psychedelic flashback. And then there's Faith, which -- because of my firmly secular background -- only summons the memory of that horrible George Michael song that goes "Bay-behhh!! I want to touch your body! You know not everybody! Has got a body like youuuu!" You're welcome for, yeah. The same.

See what I mean? Awful. And yet the name Joanna Faith Ragsdale is unquestionably lovely, and so is the little one to whom it's attached. The second daughter of my dear friends Kevin and Caryn was born two days ago, and from all accounts (well, one -- her proud papa's) she's healthy and relatively happy, given her recent involuntary exodus from the Best Place Ever.

She joins her older sister Ellie (human) and brother Oliver (canine) in a family of largehearted, smart, funny, good-looking Ragsdale-Bourrillions that I am lucky to know. Multifarious blessings, little Joanna, on you and yours. I look forward to getting to know you better in the years to come.

4 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

That terrible Toto song is "Rosanna," not "Joanna." Kool & the Gang, I believe, did an equally terrible song at one point, though, that had the lyric, "Joanna, I love you," in it, so maybe you could google it for a cool cultural reference. (And for the record, I desperately want to cover G. Michael's "Faith" with acoustic guitar, vaguely Ani DiFranco-ized. Trust me. It would work.)

All told, however, I concur fully on the loveliness of the new sprog's name. "Joanna" has grown on me since I've been in New England, since it seems to be particularly popular here.

11:13 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I love the song "Faith". And it's a good name, too.

I don't know the Ragsdale-Bourrillions, but they look quite wonderful. Congratulations!

6:45 PM  
Blogger Felix Helix said...

Quel embarras! I even had that album. Of course it's Rosanna. Jesus. I'm mortified.

I can totally see you, Laura, DiFrancoizing G. Michael. You should learn to play guitar for that reason alone. If you haven't already.

And, for the record, I love the term "sprog". I don't know the etymology, assuming there is any, but it sings.

It sings good songs.

10:53 PM  
Blogger Felix Helix said...

Seriously, though. "You know not everybody has got a body like you"? Is it me, or is that damning with the faintest praise ever?

"Yeah, honey, there are a lot of people out there who look exactly the same as you. So don't go thinking you're, like, original or unique or anything. I guess it's true that some people look slightly different, so I suppose it's possible to differentiate you from the rest of the species. You got that going for you, anyway."

12:17 AM  

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