Funny Names

I've had many names due to three marriages. I was born Virginia Roush. I always went by "Ginny" at home but at school it was always Virginia. I was teased in junior high (weren't we all?) with "Virgin" which prompted me to insist people call me by my nickname. I never felt like a "Virginia". Ginny just seems to suit me.

My first married name was Virginia Meadows, which is quite picturesque and would make a great pen name for an author. My second married name was Ginny Saliman which indicates a shiksa married a Jewish man, which she did. Then Dan came into my life. When he asked me to marry him, I said "Wow, my name will be Ginny McKinney!" He asked if I had ever considered going back to Virginia. Ha, not likely. This is the cutest name I've ever had! My daughter says it sounds like a Dr. Seuss character which is probably where Dan was going with that.

There are a lot of people with funny names but none more so than some doctors I have known. There was a Dr. Dix, the gynecologist. I've known a Dr. Payne and a Dr. Bone. Did their names prompt them to choose a career in medicine or was it mere coincidence? Then there was Dr. Cox, the urologist. I have a funny story about him. My good friend was his nurse. She was at a party once and someone asked her what she did for a living and she said she was a urology nurse. He asked her if she enjoyed her work and she told him it was great, but you really had to like Cox (meaning the doctor she worked for). The guy thought about this a minute and said, "Well, I guess that would be helpful!"

There was a very nice man in Parkersburg named A. Golden Rule. We've all heard of Armand Hammer, the philanthropist. And, honest to God, I kid you not, there was a man running for sheriff when I was in high school that was named Peter Beeter! He didn't win.

You've probably heard of the Hogg family in Texas who named their kids Ima, Ura, and Hesa. And of course, there's Moon Unit Zappa, Frank Zappa's kid. I decided to Google "funny names" and these are some that I came up with.

Barb Dwyer
B. A. Ware
Barb E. Dahl
Anne Teak
Biff Wellington
Dr. Bonnie Beaver (she's another gynecologist!)
Dick Rasch
Dr. Harry Beaver (yet another gynecologist!)
Doug and Phil Updegrave
Dr. Slaughter (I'm not kidding!)
Les Plack, DDS
Paige Turner (is she a librarian?)
Rex Easley (a traffic safety teacher)
Dr. Sumey (I wonder if he can get malpractice insurance?)

But by far, the top award for funny names goes to a guy who lived in Aspen, Dr. Head. His first name was Richard and, you guessed it, he went by "Dick"! Can you imagine the overhead page at an airport? "Paging Dr. Head. Dr. Dick...Head."? Come to think of it, I haven't heard overhead pages at airports for years. You know, the ones that directed you to the nearest white courtesy telephone? I guess they got tired of paging Connie Lingus, Candy Barr, and Harry Rump!

Be good to each other!

Ginny