My mother was very taken with name alliteration. Sadly, she had not realized this until after the birth of my brother, Christopher Robert. She was pleased the following year to be able to use this method in naming my sister – Marijane Michael. I always gave my Mom plenty of credit. She was way before her time in giving my sister a masculine middle name. This was the late 1940’s, after my Dad came home from WWII, a more common time for names like Ginny or Jane. Very rarely did you see a girl with a male moniker.
Life went on for this perfect, little family for about 11 years when my mother realized that she must be experiencing the “change of life”. She accepted this like a trooper. BUT… Then I kicked!! Well, after the shock of a new baby on the way had worn off, she was busy trying to decide the next name grouping. During the fall of 1958, my paternal Grandmother suffered from a heart attack, followed by declining health.. My grandmother had a very amazing life for the early 1920’s. She married a gentleman with a questionable moral compass. He was involved in the seedier side of society, and while my grandmother was expecting their first child, he was arrested on multiple charges and found guilty in court. This stress led to a miscarriage. At his sentencing hearing he was given 20 years. She had already begun the divorce paperwork, so, overcome with hearing his fate, he screamed that he would hunt her down and kill her for killing his baby.
This event frightened her for the rest of her life. She was what we now call an abused spouse and lived the rest of her life looking over her shoulder. She refused to ever have a photo taken of her and always wore large brimmed hats so she could hide her face if needed. One photo was taken of her at my parents wedding, and my father treasured it for the rest of his life. Now, I know you are thinking I have gotten way of track, but there is a method behind my madness.
In the winter of 1958, my mother had come up with the perfect alliteration for her baby if she was lucky enough to have a girl. Then my Grandmother passed away, so obviously she would use her name, which was Lydia, hence my naming – Lisa Lydia. I have always wished I had had the chance to know this grandmother, but I must say that she gave me a great gift in her passing.
The name that Audrey was going to give me was Heidi Ho. Need I say more??
