Letter from Lois
Corpse Flower Lois' little sis finally gets a name: Museum anticipates a twinblooming in 2015
My sister's muse.© Courtesy Everett Collection/Everett Collection
That sprout to the left is my sister! Also pictured are Julianne Maddox, whosuggested Audrey, and Zac Stayton.Photo by Steven Thomson
The ballots have been counted, and out of five options for my corpse flower sister's name — Audrey, Clark, Delilah, Hermann and Violet — Audrey has been selected via a fabulous Facebook survey and Twitter tally.
I'm blowing a big air kiss to all of my followers who participated in the vote, regardless of your taste in names. You may recall, I made no secrets about my preferred monikers (thankfully, Clark didn't make the cut). And while Audrey may not have been my No. 1 choice, I'm looking on the bright side.
That is to say, I'm looking toward other celebrities with the name, like Audrey Hepburn — that waif-like embodiment of mid-century Hollywood chic. I have full faith that through the name association alone, my sister will ascend to also hold an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony. Would you expect any less for our family?
And then there's the très chic Audrey Tautou, who can pull off Coco Chanel or an indie starlet as she did in Amélie. She's an ideal role model for my adopted sis.
I have full faith that through the name association alone, my sister will ascend to also hold a Oscar, Emmy, Grammy and Tony. Would you expect any less for our family?
Horticulturalist Zac Stayton and I caught up at the name's unveiling Monday morning at the Houston Museum of Natural Science. (Don't worry, things are no longer awkward between us.)
He filled me in that, while Audrey's precise age is unclear (embarrassing, I know), we can assume she's around three- or four-years-old, meaning that she'll be blooming in about four more years.
Incidentally, that's when I'm slated to pop open again as well. What a gas!
Will our twin 2015 blooms be like when the Olsen sisters went from minors to messes? Or will we be more refined, like the sisters Fanning? Stop guessing — you know that together we'll become an unprecedented duo of class . . . albeit smelly.
Corpse Flower Audrey is on view at the Cockrell Butterfly Center through Labor Day.
