What's in A Name

Shakespeare wrote in Romeo and Juliet, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose, By any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet refers to a name as artificial and meaningless.

It all depends on what century you live in.Artificial or meaningless, a name is important, one that men carry the rest of their lives. Women, well, we look for shorter names, better sounding names, you get the picture.

When I was born, the lady next to my mother named her daughter Candy. Their last name was Dish. I always wondered how Candy Dish made out in school, for people can be harsh. Somewhere in Oregon, a man was not satisfied with his original name of Smith.

Now I understand that the last name is quite ordinary. So is Jones, Brown, Johnson, and even Ramsey. Makes it a difficult time when doing genealogy or using the telephone book. I know people change their names all the time, which is no big deal. But this gentleman I read about will made name history.

Mr. Smith decided that he wanted to be addressed as Captain Awesome. When he faced the county judge, he explained that he was extremely serious in making the name change. After questioning the gentleman to be sure he wasn't making the change due to fraudulent reasons, the judge granted the request.

Now Captain Awesome had one more request of the judge. He wanted to sign his name with a right arrow, a smiley face, and a left arrow. However the banks will not accept the signature since it is so easy to forge. Sorry Captain, you can't win them all. Good luck Awesome.

Click on Awesome and read the new article. It is quite interesting. Then grab a good book, put your feet up and relax for an hour or two and be entertained at the same time. See you all next Friday.