50th Anniversary of Breakfast at Tiffany's

I have been fascinated by my last name ever since I met my husband. I thought, seriously, that's your name? Are you kidding? And after 15 years of having said name, every time I have to give it and spell it, I wonder what the response will be from the unsuspecting party and they have been numerous and varied.

The best was when an airline ticketing agent made fun of my last name years ago after it was newly acquired, and could tell he hurt my feelings and he upgraded me to First Class. I say make fun of it all you want now my skin is thicker.

I had never heard of the name until I began dating George and my mother made me aware of the movie and Holly Golightly. And then I caught a showing of it on cable TV where Holly signs a note. And I stared at the screen in disbelief, "that's the name" and my fascination begins.

My now deceased father-in-law told the story when I first met him that he had met Truman Capote back in the 50's. Mr. Charlie had attended college at Penn State and he and his buddies would travel to NYC and see plays and they met Broadway actors who eventually became famous. He also reported that Truman had the eye for his tall blonde buff roommate. Charlie was quite the jokester and liked to be the center of attention so I didn't know whether or not to believe him, and it makes a good story.

Over the years, I have tried to read about Mr. Capote to glean where he came up with the name Golightly but I have not discovered anything concrete. I did read of a libel lawsuit again him from a NYC woman named Bonnie Golightly but nothing came of it. I am reading a book about the making of the movie because in its' time it pushed boundaries and especially with Audrey Hepburn as the star. She was not Truman's first pick, he had wanted Marilyn Monroe and wow, that would have been a different outcome. So my fascination continues and it will have to remain a mystery, and sometimes I've learned it's better left that way.