The closest to Normal (Illinois) that I've ever been.

Monday, October 15, 2007

Lost


Saturday, Joseph and I were watching a nature documentary about caribou. One of the calves was separated from its mother and died of starvation. Joseph got interested in why and how the calf got lost. After we sorted that through, I asked him, "What would you do if you got lost?" "Die." he told me in a very matter-of-fact way. I had to explain to him that he would not die, and help him remember who he should talk to if he got lost, etc. Apparently, since the last time that we had this chat, he claims to have forgotten both the full names of his parents and his address. After I reminded him of these important pieces of information, I quizzed him and he GOT MY NAME WRONG. Inexplicably, he told me that my last name was GERSHWIN. After a lifetime of strangers mispronouncing my name, this was like a DAGGER TO THE HEART. And he surely does not know the composer, so where did he get this from?
This blows my theory that the reason that people mispronounce my name is that they know exactly one person with a somewhat similar name (Gershwin, Gresham, Hirshman), and assume that I have the same name.

Rotten kid

Less rotten when sleeping

No comments: