fluffernutter

I really appreciate all of your comments about my fluff post. Let me tell you a little story so you know how I really feel about fluff.

A long time ago in a land not so very far away, I lived in a little tiny town in Maine, where everyone knows everyone else’s name, not to mention everything else about them. My name is Annette (shh, I know you know, but it’s part of the story.) Think back to the mid-1980s. Are you there? Big hair, neon clothes? Good. Now think about the name Annette in that mindset. Can you think of anything?

Does the name Annette Funicello ring a bell? If it doesn’t, then well, geez, that would ruin the story. Anyway, do you remember what product Annette Funicello hawked on television commercials in the 80s? Yes, indeed, it was Skippy peanut butter.

Imagine being a kid named Annette back then, and what do you get? You get one of your friends coming up with a nickname for you. Skippy. (I seriously cannot believe I’m telling you this.)

Now, up in Maine, we have something called a Fluffernutter. Does the rest of the country have that? You have not lived until you’ve had one, that is all I can say. Fluffernutters must specifically be made with Fluff, as in the brand Marshmallow Fluff. No substitutes will be accepted.

Okay, have you caught on where I’m going with this? If you’re a kid who suddenly has a nickname based on a peanut butter, and in the minds of all Maine kids, peanut butter is synonymous with a Fluffernutter, then your nickname is doomed to change. To Fluffernutter. God help me. Eventually said nickname will be shortened for name calling ease. Name calling in a good way, of course. Add to that my generally light, cheery attitude, and what do you get?

Fluffy.

Oh, yes. You can call me Annette, you can call me Catnip, you can call me Skippy. Or you can call me Fluffy, because I did indeed answer to such a nickname for a short time in my young life and I’m not ashamed to say it. (Well, maybe just an eentsy-weentsy bit.)

So now you know why the word fluff does not bring up negative connotations for me. It’s all good and the glass is still half full. :)

ps. Upon reading this my sister reminded me that her nickname for me was Netti, which when combined with Fluffy was Nuffy. Nuff said.

August 7, 2008 | Filed Under family, food Tagged ,

Comments

11 Responses to “fluffernutter”

  1. sometimessophia on August 7th, 2008 3:39 pm

    Hey… I was named for Leslie Uggams, a frequent guest on the Ed Sullivan Show. Uggams is a gross nickname… What were my parents thinking?

    sometimessophias last blog post..Water, Water…

  2. T with Honey on August 7th, 2008 3:45 pm

    I love fluffernutters! My elementary school offered a choice of two sandwiches on Fridays, typically PB&J or grilled cheese. Once every two months they would switch from PB&J to a Fluffernutter and that was the ONLY time I didn’t get the grilled cheese.

    As for nicknames I never had any stick until I got into high school. One of my friends started calling me T and even that didn’t really go beyond my 5 closest friends until college.

  3. Margaret on August 7th, 2008 3:57 pm

    Husband actually recently had me pick up a jar of Fluff, Skippy and 2 loaves of Wonder Bread so he could bring them into work – apparently many of his co-workers have never heard of a fluffernutter sandwich!

    Margarets last blog post..Psst…

  4. Kim @ Up North Mommy on August 7th, 2008 5:14 pm

    Well, my maiden name was Titus. You can imagine the nicknames I got. Tight Ass, Titless, Tidybowl, which was also a big product back in the 80′s.

    Ah, childhood. Ain’t it grand?

    Kim @ Up North Mommys last blog post..We’re having Dwight Yoakam for lunch

  5. pgoodness on August 7th, 2008 5:20 pm

    Hmm…my brother and cousins always called me Dawnie, my mom still, to this day, calls me Punkin. In high school I had another one, which was mostly a joke, but it was only for a little while and never stuck past school.

  6. Kaza on August 7th, 2008 9:15 pm

    Okay, so I stand corrected, you are Fluffy. But only for that reason. ;)

    Kazas last blog post..An Unusually Productive Sunday

  7. Katie on August 7th, 2008 9:40 pm

    I will have to tell you about my nickname some day…. it’s LUMP. I’m still called that to date. ;)

    Fluffy is CUTE!

  8. magpie on August 8th, 2008 10:08 am

    sometimes i call my 4yo “fluffy”.

  9. Pocklock on August 9th, 2008 9:27 am

    Hoover. My mother called me Hoover for YEARS because I was such a fat baby and all I wanted to do was eat like a vacuum cleaner.

    I got so mad at her during those ugly tween years and made her stop because she slipped and said it in front of my friends (OH. HORROR to a 12 yr old)

    I regret telling her to stop to this day.

    Pocklocks last blog post..38 Weeks

  10. we_be_toys on August 12th, 2008 12:15 pm

    Fluff is some damn fine chemical engineering, that’s all I know!

    Ah the 80s! They weren’t good for any of us, in terms of style, though I still like to sport BRIGHT socks that match my shirt. Could be worse, could be spandex pants – I’m just saying…!

    we_be_toyss last blog post..Summertime

  11. ErinSlick on August 12th, 2008 1:33 pm

    Heh.. okay, so the kids named me Erin Hooper Pooper Scooper. Sigh. (Hooper is my maiden name) My family called me ErinSlick. Obviously, I prefer the latter. Thanks for sharing, these humiliating stories bond us all together! = )

    ErinSlicks last blog post..Procrastination