The Meaning of "One Pink Duck"

Tom and Marta Vann on a cold day in Colorado, February 5th, 1979 to be exact, welcomed into life, one little, pink "ducky". The name ascribed to the birth certificate was not "Ducky" in fact, it was Audrea. Not many of the hearers of her name upon the initial sound in their ears is quite sure how to spell Audrea. Is it Audrey, is it Andrea, is it Audra? "No" it is A-U-D-R-E-A, like "ahh-dree-uh", oh, how interesting.

How interesting she truly is, and certainly would become. She, was later welcomed home by three rough, voracious, wild-eyed and wild-haired brothers: Aaron, Elliott, and Alex(ander). They did not quite now what to make of a little pink-skinned, pink-bowed, brown-eyed, tender, tiny little creature that was neither rough, rash, brash, or crass. Then, their "Faah-ther" (from Tom Vann's own Tidewater accent), kept referring to her as his little "Ducky". What? the boys would later think? Duck-ee? rhymes with Yuck-ee...and other cruel things that little brothers do to little sisters, but at least initially, they were enamored with her. Her father was so happy, a little, baby girl. Her mother, finally...not a boy.

The Family of three boys and a girl, a mom and a dad, quickly grew to five boys and a girl. A regular basketball team, 5 players, and a cheerleader. Duck, has always been our cheerleader. She has always checked-in, and checked-up on all her five brothers, their wives, and their children. She has been a perfect sister, despite, having no sister and all brothers.

Having five brothers will do something to you. I'm not sure what it is, but perhaps that is for another time, but what it did was draw her mother and father's hearts very close indeed. How could it not, a rose among so many thorns. Dad called her Ducky, it is derived from some expression our friends from across the Atlantic say to a little, cute girl--"ducky". She wasn't our little cute girl, she was our sister, so we dropped the "y" and just called her Duck. It never seemed strange to me that I was calling my sister a feathered, fowls name or that someone might have thought she resemebled a webbed-footed, flat-billed, swimming, honking cast of nature. No, without thinking, we would say, "where's Duck?", "hey, Duck, how's it going?", "what you reading these days, Duck?"

She is precious. She is kind. She is caring. She is honest. She is witty. She is funny. She can be cross. She can cause you to laugh at yourself or herself. She is very much her Father's daughter in many ways (but, she should be). Daddy's girl was Duck to her brothers.

We love our duck. Pink represents her femminity. My parents helped her protect her God-given, femminity. She wasn't the girliest of girls, but she was no tom-boy. However, she could match wits, jokes, stories, or brains with any of us. She, by conditioning, developed a fighting spirit, but she's not fighter. She developed a sharp, confident, and witty mind, but she's humble and unassuming.

One, because she was the only girl. She was one among five. One out of six.

Thus, One-Pink-Duck describes My sister Audrea Vann Medina.

what think you?