I have now been asked about 20 times, what the name Greengirl is all about. Most instantly think that is has to do with the environment or the fact that I lived in Seattle, WA for 21 years. Those are good guesses, but wrong! Really there is no way that anyone would know this unless they asked, so thanks for all the inquiries. I will now reveal the meaning behind the name. Oh - ah - aren't you all sitting on the edge of your seats in anticipation? I know you are.
My mom and I stayed with my grandparents a lot when I was very little as my dad was in the U.S. Navy and gone quite frequently. That allowed me to sleep with the Aunts and as I was a child that loved a good bed-time story; my mantra was always, "Please tell me a story." And given that they loved me so, they would always oblige and tell me as many stories as it took to get me to fall off to sleep. Did I say they loved me a LOT!!! They did! Anyway, my Aunt Patty came up with this short story of the "Little Green Girl." It was the story that had to be told over and over and over again. I couldn't hear it enough. The little green girl was different, well it says so right in the title, she was green. She had a heart full of so much love that all she knew how to do was give, give, give. Ah - I know you're saying what a sweet little story to tell a child, but wait for it, there is a twist. Everywhere the little girl went, people would say this,"I love you, I love, I love you to bits, but you scare me right out of my wits!" Again, the whole issue of being green was really freaking people out. Now you're thinking, in the end the people learned to love her back even though she was green. Nope! The little green girl is so upset by her differences and the way people treated her that in the end she jumps off a tall building and she didn't have super powers to keep her aloft. It's just the end!
Now, if you are like the few people that I've told this story to you are thinking how terrible. Who would tell a child a story like this. Let's remember it was suppose to be a little scary. I never felt scared by it, I saw it differently. I saw that people treat one another wrongly because of their differences. I saw that people can make other people so full of despair that they jump off buildings. I learned that we each are special and unique and full of beauty. I learned to never treat someone wrongly because I did not understand them. I learned to understand someone's ideas before I decide if I disagree. The lessons that I learned from that strange little story have stayed with me and over the years, I have learned to fight for the little green girls of the world. So, in honor of all the little green girls, boys, etc... of the world I have named my blog after them. I keep them with me in my heart every day.
OK - so that's the story, but if you have any imagination or have read the book "Wicked," you might be thinking. interesting that this is similar to the story of Elphaba. I thought the same thing. However, the Aunts told me this story in the early 1960's and Aunt Patty made it up out of thin air. Somehow I think that Mr. Maguire owes my aunt royalties, but we'll never know. All very interesting.
Now, a little knitting lore regarding the Little Green Girl. Several months ago, I was at a yarn shop and found this lovely lime green yarn flecked with all other colors. I instantly wanted to turn it into a pair of socks. I decided that since I do Pilates on a regular basis that I should use the yarn to make yoga/Pilates socks (that's no heel or toes.) When they were done it hit me that they were my Green Girl socks. Green like she was, full of color to represent all the other people she met. These are the socks in the picture. I'd be happy to share the pattern, they are quite easy.
In the end, thank you Aunt Patty and Aunt Bobby. I love you both so dearly. (De)
Peace and joy to you all,
The Green Girl
- Posted on: Wed, Jul 7 2010 10:41 AM
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