Otterites! Merry Christmas you filthy animals!
So this will be a quick post, always much to do Christmas week. As you know, I have a weird word association brain pan and somehow a couple of odd ball quotes got in my noggin one after the other. First, a little Shakespeare: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose/By any other name would smell as sweet”
Next, Mr. Big threatening James Bond: “Names is for tombstones baby!”
Yes, both of those things popped in my head the other day. One made me think of the other. We do put such stock in names. We pondered for weeks thinking of the perfect name for a doodle puppy and hence we came to Wilson the Wonder Doodle, named for comedian Tim Wilson. Just perfect. Couples always search for just the right names for children. Parents try to strike the right gender note, give a nod to grandparents, ancestors, lineage and the like, or just a nod to favorite celebrities. Yet would a boy named Hunter or Butch be a different person if he were named Elliot or Elihu? Is there a difference between Tyler and Walter? Beats me.
These also lead me to question the age old tradition of marital name changes. I’m not sure there’s a point to this anymore. A couple isn’t any more or less in love or destined to have a successful marriage because of a name change. Trust and compatibility, shared dreams and values, surely mean more.
Anyway, that’s all for this Monday. Enjoy your Christmas week Otterites, and while you sip egg nog or another beverage of choice, give some thought to names and the meanings we give them. And think about that Yaphet Kotto make up job in that Bond movie. I mean didn’t everybody figure out Mr. Big and Dr. Kanaga were the same freaking guy right from the jump?
