One of my friends’ favorite lines in HASHES & BASHES is this –
“That girl’s name is Amy, a sequence of names in infamy, which is what she brought to all our lives.”
Referencing the conniving ex-daughter-in-law, Amy, who ended STASHES in the gray bar hotel and played no part of the HASHES & BASHES conflict.
She’d done enough…yet I miss her. Shall I write about her in book three or four? Here’s the link for you to buy-and-read while you wait https://www.amazon.com/Hashes-Bashes-Jackie-Steve-Colando/dp/0692758976/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1475525769&sr=1-1&keywords=Hashes+and+Bashes
Not all Amys’ character hinges on disregard of consequences and self-centered deceit. One’s name doesn’t indicate character from birth. I’m not into sweeping generalizations that dump people into devalued rubbish bins.
I’ve been reflecting on my name, Patricia, as I’ve interacted with a round of new people. It’s a beautiful name with regal roots.
I’ve met thousands of Patricias in my life. All pretty and nice, pretty nice – and only two others shared my middle name that I won’t share. Beyond the intrigue of middle name, I’m always interested in the other woman’s nickname choice. There’s a plethora of Pats, Pattys and Pattis. A famous one is Peppermint. Some Pats are men.
There was Tricia Nixon. I’ve met a Trish and a Tish.
I’ve never met a PJ unless it was a man.
I gained my nickname in my teens and, no, I will not confess how many years ago it became mine.
During my speech-language pathology career years, people who heard my profession, and the fact that I worked with young kids, upon introduction invariably said, “You must be so patient.”
To which I replied, “No, I’m not and I don’t have to be. My job is to
- know benchmarks of competence for the child’s age
- determine error patterns
- establish key words and functional phrases that will serve the child and his/her family’s lives
- problem-solve to find the smallest unit of communication the child could achieve
- harness the child’s inner drive to achieve
- reinforce, praise, and build on success
My husband repeated the message to all, that I was an impatient soul – until recent years, when I’ve waited for test results, doctor’s appointments, diagnosis-treatment-plan-cure… I’ve been very, very, very patient as a patient.
And it was in my name all along… and even if I’m imPATient, it’s spelled in my name, too.
What’s in your name?
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