Would a Vera by any other name be as fabulous?

Is there something in the name Vera that automatically qualifies her for fabulousness? Or at least unique notoriety? You may know my younger sister, Vera Verilee of Vera's big gay blog. You should know Vera Charles of Auntie Mame fame. Or perky actress Vera Miles who portrayed Marion Cranes's less slashed and soggy sister, Lila in Psycho. You probably don't, or if you do, wish you didn't know Vera Craddock, black widow of my co-workers now deceased father-in-law. This weekend I revisited (for the umpteenth time) Vera Donovan, the fabulous foil to Dolores Claiborne. This Vera is portrayed by veteran stage actress Judy Parfitt although she has been featured in several films and television series, including a recurring character on ER. If you ever get a chance to check out her Gertrude in Tony Richardson's 1969 version of Hamlet of our time for our time, it's worth her performance and the director's vision of a Hamlet much rooted in the late 1960s counter-culture.

As Vera Donovan said........................."Don't look to me, Dolores. All my money is tied up in cash"........"Sometime you have to be a high-riding bitch to survive. Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto"................Six pins, Dolores! I like six pins, not five"..........."Don't we have a hair across our ass this morning, Dolores Claiborne?"...................."Vera, call me Vera. I insist that all women who has hysterics in my drawing room call me by my Christian name".............An accident Dolores, can be an unhappy woman's best friend. Husbands die every day, Dolores. Why...one is probably dying right now while you're sitting here weeping. They die....and leave their wives their money. I should know, shouldn't I? Sometimes they're driving home from their mistress' apartment and their brakes suddenly fail"......................"I hate the smell of being old". Of course the divine Dolores has many great zingers of her own, so I'll leave you with......"Now, you listen to me, Mr Grand High Poobah of Upper Buttcrack, I'm just about half-past give a shit with your fun and games.