Tag: names

Thursday’s Wandering Thoughts

The man at the table beside mine is a coffee shop regular. Don’t know his name but I know his habits.

A woman approaches him. I’ve seen her once in a while. They chat for a bit. He mentions that she’s back from her travels and elaborates, remarking that she returned to Reno to see friends and family, like, her daughters and parents still live there. “Oh, yes,” he responds, “you left everyone back there, didn’t you?”

“Yes, but I love living here in Ashland. I think it’s great.”

Then he asks, “Remind me your name again?”

“Donna, and you’re?”

“Jack.”

I‘m a little amused by the sequence. Then again, I’ve gone through those sequences myself. A face and history is recalled, but the name is swimming through the mind’s lower depths, beyond your reach.

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Friday’s Wandering Thought

His name is Michael. It’s a common and popular name in the U.S. That mildly irritated him on a tiny, personal island of thought. Sharing a name made him less special, knowing how silly such a response was. But there it was.

He couldn’t stop himself, though, from looking up and seeing what Michael was like whenever his name was called in a coffee shop. He frequently wanted to tell them, “Hey, my name is Michael, too.” The other Michaels usually looked like confident and intelligent people. He wondered how they would view him.

His complicated thoughts about his own name often made him chuckle to himself. He wondered if the other Michaels felt the same.

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Worth Mentioning

Cats Actually Know Each Other’s Names, Study Suggests

“Published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, the study examined 48 cats who either lived in households with at least three other cats, or were from “cat cafes” where they cohabitated with lots of other felines. To test their name recognition, the researchers showed each cat a computer monitor displaying a familiar cat’s face, and an audio recording of their owner calling either the displayed cats’ real name, or a name that didn’t match the cat on the screen.”

I’m surprised by the study results NOT AT ALL. It is satisfying to read what I’ve always thought to be true. When one of our cats doesn’t respond to their name, one of our tricks is to call one of the other cats’ names. The one ignoring us inevitably turns around and comes to see what’s going on.

Science — and cats — marches on.

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Floofmenclature

Floofmenclature (floofinition) – 1. Name or designation given to an animal.

In use: “The beagle’s formal name was Abigail, but her fascination with spiders landed her the floofmenclature, Ziggy Stardust, or just Ziggy.”

2. The act or process or an instance of naming an animals.

In use: “When new pets join a  home, they typically have a name, but with the floofmenclature of becoming familiar to their new humans, they often acquire a new one.”

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Efloofonym

Efloofonym (floofinition) – Name given to an animal derived from a physical characteristic or where the animal was found.

In use: “Efloofonyms for dogs are often names like Spot, while cats are frequently named Fluffy. Both are sometimes given efloofonyms like Freeway or Stormy.”

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Sobfloofquet

Sobfloofquet (floofinition) – An animal’s descriptive name or epifloof.

In use: “The dog was originally called Royal but after he grew bigger and bigger, and galloped through the house like, quote, “a herd of elephants,” he was given the sobfloofquet of Elephant (sometimes shortened to just Phant).

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Unknown

She stared at the letter. It was addressed to Mrs. She’d always been a Ms.

They used her first name, Barbara, but she’d her middle name, Sue, since she was three years old. (Funny story, there, but for another time.)

They did have the correct middle initial and last name, so it was fifty percent correct.

Shrugging, she tossed it unopened into the recycle. Whoever it was clearly didn’t know her.

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Onomatofloof

Onomatofloof (floofinition) – Naming animals for the sounds that they make.

In use: “Within an hour, by onomatofloof, the rescue kittens became Chirrup, Hiss, Quack, and Spit.”

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Laurel

I met a woman named Laurel today. She’s young and pleasant. I began wondering about her name. I’ve never met anyone named Oak or Maple as a first name. No Pine or Spruce. I’ve heard of Willows and Magnolias but have never met them.

What about Spruce? It’s in use, but way down at #12,611 in 2018 according to BabyCenter, and it’s a boy’s name.

I can imagine a female named Spruce. “Hello, I’m Spruce.”

“Oh, pleased to meet you, Spruce. Lovely name, by the way.”

We shake hands. “Thank you. I’m named after a tree.”

Works for me.

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