MARK MY WORD: FOR DAUGHTER BECCA, NOTHING IS BETTER THAN A B

Becca's into "B" in a big way.

There are 26 letters in the alphabet, but our 3-year-old daughter has eyes for only one these days.

She notices "B" everywhere, whether it's on a restaurant sign or a word on the television screen.

If you read her a book, she proudly points out every "B."

She can recite all the letters of the alphabet, but it's "B" that grabs her attention.

Of course, if your name is Becca Bliss, it's good to like "Bs."

She wants to be a B-word when she grows up. Specifically, she wants to be a ballerina.

She loves to dance around the living room in her turquoise tutu or her white slip, her hands extended into the air like a "Nutcracker" ballerina.

Becca prefers obstacle-course dancing. After she has scattered her Barbie dolls and other toys around the living room, she dances on her toes, circling around all the stuff.

I'm amazed that she seldom crashes into anything when she is dancing.

For weeks, she watched "The Nutcracker" ballet video tape over and over again.

If you like dancing mice, candy canes, toy soldiers and the Sugarplum fairy, this is your kind of production.

Of course, you have to be 3 to watch it a zillion times in just one weekend.

Having done so, she has moved on to "The Lion King," which is this month's Movie-I-Must-Watch-A-Zillion-Times-Or-Die. She likes Simba, which, naturally, has a "B" to its credit.

Still, B-words aren't everything. She loves chocolate milk, even though there isn't a "B" in sight.

Becca's not really fond of broccoli, either. But then I guess that's because it's a V-word. Vegetables aren't one of the food groups that interest her. She prefers the C-group as in chocolate cookies.

Being a believer in "Bs," Becca probably would like a Bentley Azure.

At a price tag of $340,000, this Rolls-Royce convertible costs more than the GNP of some Third World countries.

For this kind of dough, you get a lot of handcrafted woodwork and more leather than you can find in Times Square.

You also get to drive a car that steers like a boat and guzzles gas faster than Becca downs chocolate milk.

Targeted owners for this Bentley are big "Bs," as in billionaires.

About 700 customers a year visit the factory in Crewe, England, where the cars are built.

The factory manager says it's like being present for the birth of a baby.

I don't think so. I was present for Becca's birth, and I didn't see handcrafted woodwork anywhere.

Besides, kids cost more than a Bentley when you add up everything from delivery to a college education.

Forget the Bentley, Becca has plenty of fun with a whole lot of less expensive "Bs."

As a proud parent, I'm just waiting for her to find another equally fascinating letter.

Perhaps it might be "P" since she has recently started watching "Peter Pan."

There's a whole world of letters lingering out there, just waiting to capture Becca's attention.

But for now, there's nothing better than a "B."

~Mark Bliss is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.