Dancer

Back in the days when my friend Kevin was at an age where he and his wife were first considering producing children, he suggested, only half-jokingly, that he would like to name a girl Polly Esther. This would never have cleared the bar with his wife, of course, but he and I both enjoyed the whimsy of the name.

Two weeks ago, I fell headlong into a brief dream from which I recall little more than meeting a young girl named Dancer. In the time since, the name keeps flapping across my brain space at unexpected times.

I would not be afraid to name a girl Dancer. But I fear Kevin might take it to the next level and go for naming a girl Exotic Dancer.

—Mitchell Hegman