Melolontha by the River

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“What should I write on my blog’s welcome page?”, she asked.

She really did not ask anyone in particular, but since she was alone with him in their kitchen, there was only one person left to feel addressed that could save her from appearing to soliloquize. She turned her head away from the screen towards him.

He didn’t say anything, but from the look on his face she could tell she had his attention.

“How about ‘Call me Melolontha.’?”, she slightly changed the famous opening sentence from Moby-Dick.

“Mellow-what?”, he asked confused and took a sip of his espresso.

“They call me Melolonthaaaa…“, she bursted out sining the Mellow Yellow song with adapted lyrics.

“But…”

She could see him hesitate as if to elaborate the possibility of her feeling insulted if he finished the sentence. His facial expression revealed that he would take the risk.

“… nobody calls you mellow-doohickey.”

“Well, you see, that’s where you are wrong.”, she simply replied in her know-it-all manner, filling up her little red cup with some more coffee from the moka pot.

“Crumbs, we are married for a few years now, and never have I heard anyone call you this mellow-whatchamacallit.”

“Melolontha.”, she enunciated smiling.

“What does that even mean?”, he asked, rolling his eyes, because he knew that was the question she probably had been waiting for since she first mentioned that weird word.

“Melolontha melolontha, it’s the latin term for the common cockchafer.”, she explained overly didactic.

“And what do you and the common cockchafer have in common, that you would dedicate your whole blog to its name?”

“Well, you see, another name for the common cockchafer is May bug. Since I was born in May, even though I was calculated for June, my parents sometimes joked that I seemed to have desperately wanted to become a May bug. They sometimes call me Käferkind, beetles’ child.”

“They also call you Beansie, mouse, or Bobo-the-bear…”, he interposes. “All nicknames, that do not even come close to your real name, come to think of it…”

“And you think ‘Bobo-the-bear by the river’ sounds intriguing?”, she countered.

“Well…”

“Melolontha has more to it. Heads up! The Finnish name for the May bug is saksanturilas. Saksan – German, you see. It even relates back to my country of provenance.”

He could tell she was excited about this, so he would not argue. He just smiled and waited if there was more.

There was no more.

“What about the river-stuff?”, he wondered.

“That is only to give a hint in what town in Finland I live.”, she explained.

“I see… clever.”, he said, throwing his voice in a way that left her marveling if he really meant what he said or was trying to tease her.

“What kind of topic does your blog cover?”, he then asked.

“Nothing… everything… I don’t know.”, she admitted abashed.

“Not the best starting point.”, he evaluated.

“True… you see, it’s a little difficult. Basically, I just write about my life. But sometimes I might change the story a bit, add things, leave certain things out…”

“So you’re lying?”

“No, no. I… err… improve reality to make it more… entertaining?!”, she offered.

“So you basically write stories based on your life.”, he corrected.

“Verily, that’s what I do. If you want to label it, you could say, the topic of my blog is creative writing.”

There was a moment of silence.

“So, what do you think, what should I write on my blog’s welcome page?”, she repeated the question that had led to this whole conversation.

“I don’t know, you know, you are the creative one of the two of us, so, yeah… I’m not a big help here, I guess.”

“How about I just write down this conversation?”, she asked.

“Our conversation? Really? Do you think that will introduce your blog in the right manner?”

“Yeah, come to think of it, maybe even the best manner.”

“Well, what can I say? It’s your blog, after all.”

“You’re damn right, it’s my blog!”

So, welcome to my blog. 🙂