I was actually born a Linda,
a popular name of the 50’s. In fact, growing up, two of my closest friends
were also Linda’s. But I never liked the
name, and when I got to college I re-named myself Lyn (with one N). Now, by default, all my legal documents have
the name Lyn on them. Linda only exists
for those who knew me in my pre-college years.
To them (and to my mother especially), I am, and always will be, Linda (or Linder, depending on who is speaking).
When I was pregnant with
Alexander, among the names I considered were Tess for a girl and Luke for a
boy. My family thought Tess was a
ridiculous name (I still like it) and that Luke sounded like someone who should
be raised on a farm. I chose Alexander, and until my son switched schools in
sixth grade, he was called Alexander.
But at his new school, my sons' teachers and friends assumed the name of Alex for him, which is how my son now introduces himself. To
me, and to my family, he will always be Alexander.
Today I call MOMA to ask
about getting my favorite sky umbrella fixed.
The woman on the phone tells
me I can just come down and they will replace it. I can’t remember when I bought this umbrella,
but it no longer opens correctly. I
thank her and ask for her name. “It’s
Diamond,” she tells me. “Wow, is that
really the name you were born with?” I
ask. She assures me it is. I am then curious about her last name. “Well, that’s not too interesting, but my
middle name is Crystal,” she proudly adds.
I wonder about her parents. I picture them as hippies from the 60's who
like unusual names. Or maybe they are
people who view their daughter as a jewel, a treasure of sorts, and name her
accordingly. Or maybe they are poor and
want their daughter to be wealthy, so they give her a rich-sounding name.
I can’t imagine if she had
had friends like mine, what advice they would have given if asked about a name
like Diamond Crystal. They’d probably have told me it sounds like a
salt. Sometimes it's best not to ask.
Funny Kkkkkk
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