Rainey Blogs on Some Days

An article in this month's Poets & Writers magazine entitled “The Art of Brand Naming” by Margaret Wolfson tells the story of Ivory soap. (The article is only available to subscribers of the magazine.) Originally, it was called “White Soap” by Procter and Gamble's James Gamble. His partner, Harley Procter, felt they needed a better name for the new soap. Procter found inspiration for a new name at his church while he was listening to a recitation of Psalm 45: All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have made thee glad (Psalm 45:8). White Soap or Ivory ? Sometimes a name can make all the difference!

I feel grown up when I wear hoop earrings, like my body is maturing to the point where my ear lobes can take the weight of those big hoops. People seem to pay more attention to me when I wear those big hoops, dangling, jangling, spinning around. And they are dangerous. You could easily get your hoop caught in something and—oooh!—that would be bad. It’s like having a couple of big hula hoops hanging off of your ears. Sometimes I like danger, though. It’s exciting, thrilling. Like riding a rollercoaster only it doesn’t make your stomach sick. But for some reason, when I put on those hoops I want to do wrong things. Listen to music I shouldn’t. Wear clothes that I shouldn’t. Use words that I shouldn’t. I don’t even want to go to church when I wear my big hoops. I don’t understand why having a couple of big circles hanging from my ears makes me feel this way. But it does. And I wear a lot more makeup when I wear the big hoops. It doesn’t make sense to wear those big hoops and not hav...