"…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."
– as spoken by Juliet, Act II Scene II, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Two of the roses in our house have undergone name changes… one of them, a couple of times already.

Cambio de Nombre Uno [Name Change #1]
Xavier_1
My husband’s real name is Hal, short for Harold. He’s named after his step-grandfather, the only grandfather he ever knew. Hal’s father’s name was Claude. Claude’s biological father was named Claude D’Angelis, but Claude was adopted by his step-father. If it weren’t for Harold senior, I might be Mrs. Claude D’Angelis. And I thought my geneology was hard to follow… But what’s in a name? Hal’s mother calls him Harold. In high school, he was called Harry. Which makes me sorta famous.

OHMYGOD. Clemenza just farted. I have to leave the room. OK, I’m back. Took about a minute to clear the air. Maybe putting his crate next to my desk was not such a grand idea after all. Anyway…

Hal is a terrible name to have in Costa Rica. When ticos see it in print, they call him Al because "h"s are silent in Spanish. When they hear it, they are initially confused because it’s such an uncommon name – they can’t quite get a handle on it, can’t picture the spelling. He always has to repeat it several times. He finally hit upon spelling it "Jal." Since "j"s are pronounced like an English "h", this looked like a pretty good solution. Except it only simplifies things in writing. Verbal introductions are still tedious…

But Hal’s middle name is Xavier. While it’s unusual for English speakers, it’s way easy for ticos! Where we would say Zavior, ticos say Savior. Perfect! I’m henceforth married to Xavier. Sorry for the confusion. As he likes to say: "You can call me Hal."

Cambio de Nombre Dos
Winston_life_magSir_winston_1Our other name change is Clemenza’s. Nobody but me can remember Clemenza. Don’t get me started on guys and Making An Effort. Clemenza’s new name is Winston Churchill. That’s Sir Winston to you. The pictures tell the tale. No mystery here, eh?

The name Milton Friedman, one of Xavier’s personal heroes, was also under consideration. Great name, great mind. But no facial similarity.

We love Winston already. What a GREAT DOG!!!! Farts aside. He is affectionate, gregarious, anxious to please, loves to play, happy to be with us. Winston Churchill, the man, said: "All the great things are simple, and many can be expressed in a single word: freedom, justice, honour, duty, mercy, hope." He left out dogs.

Previous Post
Next Post