Saturday, January 12, 2013

What's the story behind your name?

If I see hear more public-service ad, asking for help for the devastation Sandy caused, I think I will scream. Please, add "Hurricane" in the sentence.

Seriously, I've been thinking about my name a lot today. Recently I've heard several introductions where the person was asked about their name. "That's an interesting name. Why did your parents name you that?" or "There's got to be a story, with a name like that." In one case it was, "Were your parents hippies or something?" which came across a bit negative. But still, no one has ever asked me for the story behind my name. And I have a good story.  I really like the story of my name. So even though no one has asked, I'm going to tell it.


My mom grew up in a tiny little seaside town in New Jersey. As a child, and especially as teen, she spent a lot of her time at the beach. If you've ever seen the old beach movies with Frankie and Annette, you can imagine what it was like. Then she met my father (on the beach, naturally), and they were married. He was in the Air Force, so they ended up stationed on a base in the middle of Maine. Snowy, far-from-home, no-beach-in-sight, Maine. And of course I was born in the middle of winter. Homesick for her family and friends, Mom decided to name me after her beloved beach. I suppose I should be glad that she chose Sandy instead of Boardwalk.

See, I told you that I had a good story. I've even managed to include just enough facts to make it seem like it might be true!

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