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My name is Katie Talula Bell and I want to be rich.
I was named Katie after my Father’s great aunt, and Talula after an English actress my mother liked. I‘m pretty sure no one else in the world has heard of her, but Mom loved the movie Pride and Prejudice, and Talula Riley—whoever she is—played one of the main characters, so the name stuck.
I guess as far as names go, Katie Talula isn’t too bad. Better than the name my best friend Sarah was doomed to live with. Apparently, her mother loved old romantic films and British actresses as well. Unfortunately for Sarah, her mom’s obsession resulted in the name Googie Sarah Franklin. It’s hard to imagine why mothers and fathers would give their children names like Googie and Talula, but I’m living proof of the horror that can occur when film-obsessed parents run unchecked.
Sarah says she wants to be rich, too, but she’s not too worried about it. For me, getting rich is practically all I think about. It even came up at a Sunday dinner last month. Mom’s sister, Aunt Janine, was over and had asked an innocent question: “Katie, dear, what do you want to be when you grow up?”
I am sure my mother expected me to say something like veterinarian or nurse, but my answer made Mom drop her jaw in disbelief.
“I want to be rich,” I had said matter-of-factly.
Mom looked shocked. “Ha, ha, very funny, that’s not what she meant and you know it.”
Aunt Janine covered her mouth to try to hide her laughter.
“But I do want to be rich,” I insisted.
Mom just looked at Aunt Janine and they both shook their heads.
It’s kind of hard to be a kid who’s serious about wanting to be rich. If you pay attention, you start to see that kids aren’t supposed to want to be rich, or at least they aren’t supposed to say that to other people. I find it funny how Mom and Dad often talk about wanting to have more money so they can buy a different house, a nicer car, and the boat Dad has been dreaming about, but if the topic ever comes up with friends or family, they say everything is just the way they want it to be. As if wanting more money is a crime. And of course, they never actually mention the word money. Instead, they say things like, “We just want more family time,” or “a better quality of life.” But when we’re home, I hear them say they believe having more money would make them happier.
For the life of me, I can’t figure out why it’s so wrong for a kid to want to be rich. It seems like just the opposite should be true. Wouldn’t being rich be a good thing? If it’s okay for adults to want to be rich, then why not kids? And the craziest thing of all, why can’t we talk about money and being rich with other people?
Money seems to make people act in bizarre ways, and I didn’t think I’d ever understand it. At least, I didn’t think so until that fateful day when I found the well. On a sunny and bright summer day, a simple wish gave me everything I thought I ever wanted. That turned out to be the wackiest, most difficult, exciting time of my young life. In all of the craziness, I would come to find out having exactly what you want is not always what you need, and there is a huge difference between being rich and being happy.