Whats in a name?

Down on Grandmas Farm: Part 11

Its a pleasure to meet you Aunt Billy
as she patted me on my head.
Now I am not one to be a know it all,
but I sures do know Billy aint
no name for a woman.

Aunt Billy and Uncle Alley
lived a stones throw from
Grandmas house. I mean
I could hit their red brick house with a rock.
Uncle Alley was a carpenter, mighty fine one at that.
But just like all his brothers, he was missin fingers.
Thank the Lord he wasnt no Doctor.

I always thought it a bit peculiar that Grandma and Aunt Billy
needed a squawk box between the two houses.
Comes to find out the county line ran smack down
between the houses and it was long distance
talk, and talk they did.
There were times Id walk by the kitchen
Id swear, cross my heart hope to die,
stick a-needle-in my-eye,
that there was cackling hens
laying eggs complaining about
the rooster in the hen house.

I sure would catch a woopin
if Grandma heard me call her that
but I calls it likes I hears it.
Ya see my Grandpa married into
three main families round here,
Crimes, Passmores and Love.
Aunt Billy and Grandma were
from the Love side of the family tree,
thats the side with the names.

Must have been something in the food they was
eating or drinking, they sure got the men and the women
folk callin all mixed up. I bout split a gut when I learned
Grandmas name, Wallace Gregory Love,
christian named at birth.
Grandma came from 13 brothers and sisters,
Grandpa from 12,
To top it all off my daddy is an only child, aint that a hoot?

Edwards werent much better with name pickin,
Thats my family name, weez all over these parts too.
My Grandpas name was James Harvey!
My Grandpas brother name was James Lafayette!!
My Daddys name is James Harvey!!!
Makes me think they stayed out in the sun to long
before the name pickin commenced.

Well when I heard all this,
and my head stopped spinnin
I said to myself when I gets older I sure is
goin to name my kids good original names.
Oh yeah that guy Johnny Cash, if he was my pappy
Id be upset to with a name like Sue ,
How do you do my foot

Copyright 2008 Ronald J. Edwards