When I was a kid, “personalized” shizz was really popular. Personalized keychains, personalized bookmarks, personalized license plates for your bike, personalized shoelaces for your sneakers. It wasn’t personally personalized just for you, of course. You bought the stuff ready-made in the drugstore or Caldor or another place like that. I was always very hurt when there wasn’t a “Wendy” item on the racks. It wasn’t a common enough name to be there consistently.
I wonder what has happened to the personalized tchotchke business, what with people giving their children names like Pilot Inspektor, Moxie CrimeFighter and Erie Lackawanna. (That last one is actually the name of a railway, but I always thought it would make a good baby name.) I wonder if the tchotchke people still think Wendy is so outlandish and rare.
In addition to a dearth of keychains, there aren’t many well-known songs that mention a “Wendy.” (For the last time, “Windy” by the Association doesn’t count!) Jenny gets her name AND phone number in a song title, and I get a tiny mention from Bruce Springsteen? Unfair. Anyway, I think it’s morbidly amusing that a rare Wendy song — “Tomorrow, Wendy” by Concrete Blonde — is one of the most depressing songs in the world. Here it is. I’d say, “Enjoy!” but that might be impossible. How about: “Listen as long as you can bear it but if you feel suicidal, stop immediately.”
There’s no video, just audio.
UPDATED TO ADD: Gorgeous blogger Jennine points out that I left out the super-obvious “Wendy” by the Beach Boys, which I think I tend to block from my consciousness because my name sounds so ridiculous in Beach Boy harmony. But here it is. Consider it the antidote to the Concrete Blonde song.
I don’t know of any songs with my name in them, but I’ve heard the “Dammit, Janet…” line from Rocky Horror Picture Show more times than I can count.
My name has NEVER been mentioned in a song.
Have you looked at personalized key chains recently? Names like “Destiny” and “Dakota” have now made it into the mainstream.
I’m lucky – Shannon was fairly common on key chains (except occasionally it was in the BOY section. Oh well, i like blue).
I’m pretty sure Avalon and Kaidin are never going to be able to find their names…
I love your name because it’s in the title of my favourite book – the original Peter Pan and Wendy. You don’t need a song with such a prestigious credit!
Ha! My non-blogger name is spelled in the boy’s version of it so my only options growing up were get a personalized item that was girly and spelled wrong or get the spelled the right way and have it be blue/red/yellow with dumptrucks on it.
A no win situation either way you look at it.
It also didn’t help that I a) had short hair so people always thought I was a boy and b) even my grandmother spelled my name the wrong way.
How’s that for an identity crisis?
Thanks, Mom!
Luv
Poochie
i made it about 59 seconds into the depressing wendy song…
Blimey.. gonna die tomorrow? I needed to listen to the second one just so that I can recover from the first one. 🙂