The Hil Street Journal

Many have asked, “why Hollis?” I have five answers.

1. Basketball - Hollis Price played college basketball at OU from 1999 to 2003. When Ryan and I started dating, we watched Hollis Price play several games - and we were huge fans. The first time Ryan drove to Oklahoma to meet my family, we met at an OU basketball game. Not only was Hollis Price a stand-up guy (so nice!) he was also very good at basketball. He helped to lead the Sooners to the NCAA Final Four in 2002. He is now a professional basketball player in Lithuania.

2. Give me an H! - “H” names are abundant in my family. My grandfather, mother, two aunts, an uncle and I all have names that start with H. Hollis continues the lineage.

3. The Holly and the Ivy - I love Christmas, and “Hollis” is the male version of the female name “Holly.”

4. Holly the Collie - My aunt (whose name starts with H) had the first collie of our family and named her “Holly.” Hollis is honoring that first collie.

5. Easy transition - Hollis’ official fancy-pants papers name is “Boris.” I think that’s because Border Collies are usually black and white, but he’s all red and white so Boris is some sort of communist “red” joke. Not interested in pursuing a political philosophy debate with my puppy’s name, we changed it to another name, but a name that still rhymed with the original name to make the transition easier.