Cheerleaders....and Pom-pons

Some say the great cheerleading innovator Lawrence Herkimer was the first to call them "pom-pons" with an "n". He worried that "pom-pom" might be vulgar, or so the story goes.

My research reveals otherwise: the French have long cried "pompon" whenever they pointed to a tasseled ball of fluff on berets, draperies, or hats of the French Navy. People tend to write and say pompom because, well, who truly knows? Maychance they like the double m...or are referring to an antiaircraft weapon. I suppose waving fists full of streamers could keep airplanes away.

At any rate, I say huzzah for the Heathwood Hall team and their trim yet not immodest uniforms, pom-pons or pom-poms aside. Mr. Herkimer, inventor of the Herkie, would be proud.