How Carii Bee Came to be~

Here's an interesting story for you, if you want to read on for a bit. My friend and mentor Apple Braunstein does not like my first name. She said whenever she hears it, she cannot visualize my face. I told her that perhaps it's because "Cari" is a nickname and not my birth name. She said, no that wasn't it.

She told me the story of her name which goes something like this. Her birth name, which she also dislikes very much, is Alma. She constantly had to repeat it to people. They just didn't or wouldn't hear it. One day, a middle eastern child asked her mother why she was calling "Alma" a fruit. You see the name Alma, meant Apple in her language. Alma clapped her hands in delight and from that day on, she was "Apple."

Apple asked me if she could think up a new name for me, to which I said yes. She pondered upon it for a couple of weeks and came back to me with the name "Bumble Bee." She said, "You are interested in doing many things in creating your life's journey. You've learned and gathered much information to create this fascinating life. Just like a bee or bumblebee that collects from all the fragrant flowers in the field, thereby pollinating many flowers instead of just one."

She waited for a moment to see if I would be pleased.....and I was! I loved the name and was awestruck that this amazing woman would think so long upon a name for me.

A couple of months went by and she asked me why I hadn't used the name. I said that I couldn't figure out how to include it in my work. And now she thought I should add an extra i to my first name, informing me that the word Hawaii had two i's. After thinking upon this a little longer, we decided to turn the first letter of my last name (Branning) into just the B. Just B turned into Bee...and there you have it!

This is the debut of my new name in the picture above, created by Seventh Avenue fashion designer, Apple Braunstein.