"When is Leelu not in trouble?" (Korben Dallas)

Yes, I know it's "mis-spelled"...

...not really.

A friend of mine replied to an e-mail of mine recently, telling me that "leelu" is not how it's spelled in the production credits for "The Fifth Element". He's right. But, with apologies to Mr. Dallas...

Back when I was in high school (yes, the earth had cooled, plants had begun to grow...) I dated the plumber's niece, whom I met through my best friend. They were (and presumably still are) cousins. She lived about 35 miles west of me, in an area that, back then, hadn't succumbed to development - yet. They lived at the turn of the road, about 1/2 mile from the freeway. As we started spending more time together, I started spending nights in the guest room. (Really.) I was trying to be a Good Catholic Boy, and to make matters worse, her aunt and uncle actually trusted us. What are you gonna do? We didn't act on impulse. OTOH, we did spend a goodly amount of time kissing.

Her grandparents had a ranch a few miles down the road. I spent a Christmas or two there, and many a summer afternoon around the BBQ. It was the most consistent time I had ever spent in a "normal" family environment - parents (OK, uncle and aunt) grandparents, and kids (her and I). There was a lot of teasing ind give and take. Grandpa would call me a "mackerel-snapper", I would call him a "low-life Sinn Feiner", or "Orangeman". It was fun. Protestant vs Catholic. A traditional and time-honored game.

In any case, for reasons I do not know, he hung the nickname "leelu" on me. In my mind, that's how it was spelled. After we went our separate ways, I forgot about the name. Until, of course, when Korben Dallas asked the Fifth Element for a shorter version of her name, and she replied "Leeloo".

ROTFLMFAO.

So, when I started posting, I of course used the name, but in the spelling I liked. It was always how I thought of it.

And, Mr. Dallas *is* right, regardless of the spelling.