Middle Name...
When I was a kid I hated my middle name. My parents named me after my father who was named Robert Lee. Since he went by Bob they decided that it might eliminate confusion to call me Lee. I became used to it over the years, but there were times when I disliked the sound of Lee.
During my fifth grade year I decided to go by Robert. I also let my hair grow out from the buzz cut that had been my hair style since early childhood. I'm not sure why my parents kept my hair cut that way, but I hated it. To me the hair cut looked really dorky. My father never had his hair cut like that. He had a traditional cut that was kept in place with Vaseline Hair Tonic. After my hair grew long enough to comb I begged my mother to buy me Vitalis Hair Tonic which came as a colored liquid--blue I think it was--and it didn't seem oily like the Vaseline. But my father used the Vaseline and they didn't want to spend money on something different so that's what I had to use. Even so, I was glad about the new hair style. Looking back at old photos the style did give me a greater air of maturity.
After the fifth grade name experiment I went back to using Lee for most of my life other than a period when I joined a magic show in 1975. There was a Vietnamese young woman who was also named Lee so the people on the show called me by my last name, Jackson. It wasn't like when coaches in my phys ed classes called me "Jackson"--I always hated that. This sounded different--more distinctive and appropriate for the times. Besides, Jackson Browne was popular at that time and that seemed pretty cool to me to be called Jackson.
Not long after I joined the magic show the Vietnamese couple left, but I was still called Jackson until a young lady joined the show and she began calling me Lee again. She and I got married not long after we had met and I stayed Lee from then on out. Even after we got divorced.
It's been Lee ever since. I'm not bothered by the name like I once was. It's just another part of who I am and who I have been.
Do you like your middle name? Have you ever gone by a nickname? What would you have chosen for a name had it been up to you?
My parents didn't give me a middle name which was a huge source of consternation with me when I was a kid. So I picked my confirmation name of Michelle, so that I'd be named after my dad John Michael (Joanne Michelle). I have used that as my middle name and it's on my social security card, but it occurred to me that technically it's not legal. It's not on my birth cert. It's just a Catholic ceremonial name. Oh well....it's on all my legal ID now!
ReplyDeleteJoJo, for most of my life I thought my mother's middle name was Kay. That's what was on her papers everywhere. Then a few years ago I found a copy of her birth certificate which showed that her middle name was Katherine. She got mad at me and told me not to tell anyone. I don't know why she didn't like that name--I think it's a nice name.
DeleteLee
I was named Susan after Eisenhower's gr-daughter Susan. Appears that were many Susans from that era. I hated that name. My middle name is Elaine, which I loved. Now, Susan is okay, but my siblings call me Sis.
ReplyDeleteSusan, my second wife was named Susan. She was born in 1957. I think it's a nice name. Elaine is nice too.
DeleteLee
My middle name, William, doesn't get a lot of use. One sister will call me Christopher Bill regularly, but other than that, it's been limited to Chris and various permutations and manglings thereof.
ReplyDeleteCW, funny how certain family members will decide to call someone something different than the norm. Some of my family on my mother's side always called me Bobby Lee. I thought it was a little strange, but it didn't really bother me.
DeleteLee
I go by my middle name. Originally I went by my nickname Lynn growing up. However, my first grade teacher told my mother she could not use my nickname which was short for my first name Evelyn. So I became Ann. As a kid, I would have preferred a fancy name like Andulida or Ophelia. But now Ann has its merits. Everybody can spell it. Just not the way I spell it sometimes.
ReplyDeleteAnn, simple is good in my book. Can't believe your teacher wouldn't have allowed the name you were used to go by.
DeleteLee
I was named after the Queen of England. . .I think my American mother liked the regal sound of it. However, as a writer's name, it's too plentiful. . .
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