'Anne with an E'

As a child, the only gift (besides a check) that I can remember getting from my 'Grandpa O'Keefe' is the 2-VHS tape set of Anne of Green Gables.  I don't know if he bought the same movie for all of his granddaughters, but I like to think he bought it especially for me, being that I am named after his daughter, my godmother, Anne (with an E).

I didn't know growing up, but I guess that proper 'etiquette' for names in the 50s and 60s stated that Anne as a first name should have the 'e' and Ann as a middle name should not (just like Jeanne vs. Jean for first or middle names).  Being that my 'Anne' is a middle name, I think that makes me special (and Anne with an E is so much more distinguished!).

Nowadays, people name their kids all kinds of crazy things and spell them any way they want.  I guess there was a time when that wasn't the case.... something that as I just read Anne of Green Gables was mentioned when Marilla remarks about the Barry girl named 'Diana' instead of Jane or Mary or something more common.  In the story, Anne has no problem with wonderfully crazy names and asks to be called Cordelia. 

I have watched those tapes (and now DVDs) probably 20 times since I received them, each time thinking about my grandfather and how much he must have wanted me to have them... seeing as he never again sent an actual gift.  The movies hold a special place in my heart and I still remember what I was wearing and where I was the first time I watched them.

It wasn't until it was a suggested book for a book club that I am in that I happened to read the first in the Anne series, Anne of Green Gables.  This is a book that most people read sometime in their childhood, but for some reason almost half of the book club had not.  I wasn't expecting much, as having been on several book award committees I have found that reading beloved childhood books as an adult doesn't always result in adoration, but I was smitten almost from the first page.

Anne is a lovable, laughable, and kindred character, and through her trials and her excitement I found myself remembering my own childhood and comparing notes.  Did I fall off a ridgepole after being dared to walk it? No..... But I did get challenged to a race through the 'World's Largest Human Maze' in Breckenridge, CO only to finish 40 dizzying minutes later than the other kids and throw up all over upon my exit.  Was it embarrassing? Yes.  Was I being competitive? Oh heck yes.

I actually own all of the Anne books, and never had picked one up to read it - I find it hard to read a book after having seen the movie.  I spent my childhood watching the movie instead of reading the book, but I found myself believing I was one of Anne's 'kindred spirits' just the same.  I am so glad to have been 'forced' to read the book for book club, even if it was some 20 years late.