I always wanted to be named Angela.
When my sister Therese and I would daydream about adventures and choose fake names, we always argued about who would be Angela.
That’s because of Angela Cartwright, who portrayed Penny Robinson on “Lost in Space.” She was in other things, like “Sound of Music,” but it was “Lost in Space” that made us want to be Angela.
Sometimes we were stubborn enough to both proclaim ourselves Angela, because neither of us was willing to settle for Angela’s sister’s name, which was Veronica.
Because of my yearning to be Angela, I have a hard time remembering to call out Alexa’s name when I want to use my Echo. I hesitate, because the temptation is great to ask Angela for the information I want. But after a pause I give in and finally call out, “Alexa, what’s the temperature?”
“56 degrees,” she will answer in that snotty-I-know-everything voice. If her name was Angela, I’m pretty sure she’d be inquiring after my health, asking what I was going to do today, and offering to go rummaging with me.
As it is, Alexa only offers to tell me tomorrow’s forecast or give me the latest news updates. (Although, she did once offer up a music mix that was a little techno-heavy for my taste.)
So, no Angela for me, though I now find myself craving an episode of “Lost in Space.”
So I asked, “Alexa, how do I watch ‘Lost in Space’?”
“Here are some results,” she answered, but quickly followed up with, “Sorry, something went wrong.”
Angela would never make that mistake.
geriparlin 