May 1, 2019:
I was fascinated by Godzilla, though I'd not yet seen the films.
Instead it was a plastic model kit of the monster which captured my imagination, age six or seven. I saw it in a toy store and had to have it. My mother cheerfully built it for me, very carefully following the instructions. I vividly remember the care she took gluing the pieces together.
I had no idea what color it was supposed to be. Well — it was pale green on the box. That's actually wrong. It's charcoal gray in the films, or sometimes black. Whatevs. I painted it yellow. You heard me. Canary yellow, with brown face and hands and vibrant blood-orange spinal fins. Works for me.
I was so taken with the monster that I named my kitten after it. My sweet little baby kitty, who I carried home inside my shirt for warmth and safety while I walked her home from the neighbors' down the road who gave her to me. An entirely inappropriate name, 'cos she was as far from a monster as you could imagine. We called her "Zilla". The first great love of my life; certainly the most loyal.