Fannee Doolee and me.

When I was a pre-teen/adolescent, one of my favorite shows was Zoom on PBS Kids. It was pretty awesome.

Why? Because it was funny. And they also showed you how to make things. And taught you basic principles of science. And a whole lot of other stuff that would fit the topic of normal conversation in a classroom. And they spoke Ubbi Dubbi.

One of the segments I liked, that was purely for fun (well, except for the fact that it got you to think), was called Fannee Doolee. And the only reason I know how to spell that, was because they had a song for it, which I just sang while typing it. "F, A, double N, double E, D, double O, L, double E!"

Anyway, Fannee Doolee was a very odd person. Not just because of her name. She always seemed like she couldn't make up her mind.

We never saw Fannee Doolee. I always wondered what she looked like. I always pictured her in a big floppy hat.

Floppy hat, or no, she was talked about a lot. During the Fannee Doolee segement, the kids would take turns saying things about her. Always odd things. Which is what led me to assess that she was an odd person.

Everything the kids said about Fannee Doolee was something like this, "Fannee Doolee likes to swim, but she doesn't like water. Why do you think that is?" I don't remember if that was exactly true about Fannee Doolee, but it seems like it could be. It seemed like everything she liked, she also disliked simultaneously. How can you like to swim, but then not like water? Hence the ever repeated question, "Why do you think that is?"

I never could figure Fannee Doolee out. Why was it that she liked books, but didn't like to read? 1.) That's unthinkable, 2.) it seems impossible. Without reading, what would she get from them? A many-paged paper weight? She drove me a little crazy with all of her contradictions.

But I think I'm a lot like Fannee Doolee. I like strawberry flovored things and things made with strawberries, but I don't like strawberries. I don't ever want to eat a tomato, but I consume ketchup like it's a main course. And preparing, experimenting with, creating with food is one of my favorite things in the world to do, yet I tire of eating rather easily. I could stand in a kitchen and play with food all day long, and never eat a bite of it. Which isn't especially hard to do if I'm making something I don't like. Which I will do. Because I'm also a picky eater, but I will eagerly cook something that I have no interest in putting into my mouth. Just don't expect me to taste-test it, because I'll pucker up my mouth and say it tastes bad even if you don't think it does.

Why do you think that is?