Lavender Lonnie

It's funny how people get nick names, and how they stick.

That's my mother's family nickname, given by me as a teenager.  I appropriated this tag after noticing her pattern of transforming various household items from whatever color they were, into this very soothing shade of purple.  When you say the word "purple", most people think, "murky," "dreary," "mourning", or just "eeyyuckk".  Lavender is different.  Imagine if you could mix a dab of clear teal blue sky with just a little blueberry juice.  That would be lavender to me.  It's peaceful.  A clear blue sky can do that.

I guess it does the same for Lonnie.  Over the years, I've watched her lavender magic work on nick knacks, picture prints, picture frames, railings, floors, walls, cabinets, etc.  But here's the thing.  It was never too much lavender at any one time.  Never a monotonous shade.  Lovely lavender has a very narrow range of calm and peace, and Lonnie always had that balance.

She also liked an occasional clothing item in lavender, which will get us from my lavender dissertation to the funny part of the story.

A few years ago, I went to pick her up at the airport after her flight from the Outer Banks area of North Carolina.  I see her coming down the passenger tunnel in a just the right shade of lavender pants suit, and an extra bounce in her step (yes, she's an "octo" that still has that).

"Ma, you look extra chipper.  That must have been a very good flight."

"Let me tell you how good.  There was this very charming young steward who lit up when he passed my coach seat and said,"

"WOW Mayam,  that is THEE most Gor gee us lavenduh out fe it Ah have EVUH laid Ahhs on!!"

"I thanked him profusely, and said what a fine, kind young southern gentleman he was.  He left to go about his business.  Then I noticed the plane had quite a few empty seats.  The next time I caught his eye, I hooked my little first finger between my sight and his, and he came back to my seat," Lonnie said.

What happened next made me realize the gene connection between Lonnie and her mother, my Nana, who I've already told you about.

Lonnie said to the young man,  "Don't you think this lavender pants suit would look much better in first class, next to a glass of champagne?"

"He just rolled his eyes and walked away, but I knew I had him on the line," she continued.

Shameless.

"A few minutes later, he summoned me with his own little hook finger to the forward cabin, where he sat me down in this huge seat made from a cloud, poured me a glass of champagne, and left the bottle right next to me.  I was so nice to that young man the rest of the flight."

Lonnie sure has a way with that color.