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Where does the Gobnait come from, Deborah? These translations, Alison, Arni, yourself, are wild. Got to saddle my horse quick. Mairead Mairéad Byrne Assistant Professor of English Rhode Island School of Design Providence, RI 02903 www.wildhoneypress.com www.maireadbyrne.blogspot.com >>> [log in to unmask] 06/12/03 21:46 PM >>> My birthday was Tuesday and Kenneth's post reminded me of the story of how I got the name Deborah or didn't. My parents thought that Deborah was not a common name (just a bit ahead of Debbie Reynold). But I am told that in 1950 Deborah was not a "saint's name" so the priest said how about Mary Deborah, but my father did the then equivalent of whatever and the story goes that my baptismal name was Mary. Who knows? But I do remember the horror of my mother, a convert from Garrison Keilor land, when I told her I wanted the name Agnes for confirmation. In those days confirmation was not really a coming of age in the faith community thing, but when the bishop happened to go through the county--a week after our First Communion. And last on this little journey down memory lane, by time I entered the convent, they had stopped the custom of giving out new names. Actually I like the name Deborah. Well happy birthday to Mark and other Geminis. from Newark (NJ) -----Original Message----- From: Poetryetc provides a venue for a dialogue relating to poetry and poetics [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Kenneth Wolman Sent: Thursday, June 12, 2003 9:24 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Birthday Boy At 04:29 PM 6/12/2003 -0700, you wrote: >Too much reading O'Casey at an early age. > >I was sometimes called Marcus Aurelius. Or Moishe Yizzik. We had a lot of >linguistic choices. > >Mark Happy birthday, Mark! When I was born it seemed to be a Jewish unofficial practice to do a form of mental nose-straightening. By which I mean you gave you kid the most trayfe name imaginable so he could "pass." I am Kenneth Theodore Wolman. I was named for my father's father, Kalman. Kalman was my "inside" name. Theodore came not from any Greek branch of the mishpocheh but from Tova, my grandmother. There I was: Celtic, Greek, and the only time my father used his given name--Jacob--was when it was carved on his headstone. We gave the name straight-up to my firstborn. This wasn't just done among Jews. I knew a guy in college named Jordan Sibilski. He went to court and legally changed his last name to Bell. I gather it happened among Italians of a certain age as well. I don't like counting birthdays anymore. The last birthday I enjoyed was when I hit 40 because my wife threw a surprise party for me and I was actually surprised. I'm 59. Even considering the alternative to turning 60 next February...well, here's where I start humming a few bars from "September Song":-). Ken ----------------------------- Kenneth Wolman http://www.kenwolman.com http://kenwolman.blogspot.com Lord, steel us against the expectation of disappointment and our belief in the certainty of heartbreak....