Say My Name

Name that is.

What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call'd,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name,
And for that name which is no part of thee
Take all myself.


I think Juliet might be wrong. Besotted adolescent that she was, she might think a rose remains the same but I think having a name like stinkypoo or mugwort would make the rose smell just a lil less.

So yes, names are important. Traditionalist that I am, I like simple names. Nothing too fancy or complex. Names that have lasted the test of time kinda like Adam and Eve.


Wait. Am I writing the right name on the wall?
But then we have our own countrymen who insist on twisting ( pretzeling? ) their names into unusual derivatives for the sake of being original! Working in the hospital seeing dozens of personalities drift by gives us an opportunity to catch some of the most peculiar names from Letronika to Dandelion. Of course some of the newly minted monikers are intriguing enough but some just make me wanna scratch my head in disbelief.

I've mentioned the oddly named Cherry before. Sounds girlish enough till you figure that it belongs to a strapping fellow. I'm sure he gets enough jokes about his cherry being plucked.

And hey, Spoon anyone? Come on, are the siblings called Fork and Knife? Would her parents be the Ladle? Will the children be called Teaspoon? Sounds like a culinary cabaret! The mind boggles.

But that isn't as awful as the Stiff. Seriously. Not sure if he's talking about the appendage or the corpse but both carry equally shocking implications.

Then we have the simple Biblical name of Daniel. Not only did I see a Danell but I also caught whiff of a Darniel. Won't be long before we have a Danyell of course.

And then I had the opportunity last week to meet a young gentleman who rejoiced in the name of Wrestley. Seriously. That would be Wrestle with a Y. Reason I know for sure is because I kept saying Wesley to no avail only to have him correct me with his proper spelling.

Damn.

Maybe I should start calling myself Pol. Or Paule. Or maybe Prawle.

Or maybe I could always go back to plain Lorenzo Mercanti.