Friday, February 18, 2011

Some updates

I've updated Mother's Caring Bridge journal a couple of times since I've made an entry here. She's doing much better. She's been sleeping in the recliner for the past month. She's doing so well, she may soon be able to go back to sleeping in her bed.

I, on the other hand, spend way too much time in bed. I need to be more faithful in taking my potassium. Perhaps I wouldn't be so tired all the time.

Luana is going down to see her granddaughter Angelica tomorrow. Angelica had surgery on her sinuses & she is sitting up. She can't sit up for very long, but it's better than being in a medicated coma or restrained so she won't pull tubes & things. I can't wait to hear what Luana has to report.

I found out some interesting things about my 3rd great-grandfather, Thomas Marshall. The story goes that Sarah Goode Marshall wanted to emigrate to the United States to gather with the Latter-day Saints in Zion (Salt Lake City). Her husband Tom didn't like the Mormons. She would go to church & sometimes the spirit would whisper or sometimes the other members would see him coming to get her & warn her. She prayed that a way would be opened for her to come & Tom died.

One history I read said that "Brother" Marshall had poor health.

OK, we now have proof through four newspaper articles published at the time that Tom committed suicide. He was having an affair & had been saving money so he & his paramour could emigrate. Sarah got that money. She also had to borrow from the Perpetual Emigration Fund so she, her children & her younger sister could come.

I can't wait to find out more. I never did like Thomas Marshall.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Mononymous

Is there a term for when people go by a single name? Yes. A mononymous person is an individual who is known and addressed by a mononym, or "single name."
In the West, mononymity, as well as its use by royals in conjunction with titles, has been primarily a privilege of famous persons such as prominent writers, artists, entertainers, musicians and sportsmen.  ~ Wikipedia
 So, where did this come from? Today in Sacrament Meeting during the ward business, Tim Golightly, the counselor in the bishopric who was conducting, released a whole list of people, using both first & last names. When he came to Don-Mikel, he didn't use a last name, he just said his first name. Well, ok, Don-Mike's name is hyphenated, but that's what he goes by, so it is a single name.

I don't know how many people noticed, but Del Rumsey told Don & I. I loved it. Not that he was released from the Primary, because he has loved teaching the Valiant Boys for the last several years. Actually, he was teaching Valiant Boys in 2007, because I taught Valiant Girls & he taught the boys. I was released when I started having chemo in '07.

When we lived in Grace, Idaho, the boys were on a T-ball team. Nick would sit out in the outfield & pick grass or roll around. Don-Mike got to play bases. I remember in one game he was playing 2nd base. We were playing a team from Soda Springs. At one point in the game, a boy from the opposing team was on 2nd base. A coach from the opposing team was yelling, "Run, Don Michael, run!" So, Don-Mike started running, as did the boy on 2nd base. We had 2 little blond boys running hard for 3rd base. The coach from Grace yelled, "Stop, Don-Mikel, stop!" They both stopped. Needless to say, the boy from Soda who was running the bases got out.

Afterward, a lady came up to me very angry. How dare I name my son Don-Michael? Ummm, his father's name is Don & his uncle's name is Mike. I didn't want to go into any detail that Michael really wasn't because of his uncle Mike. I figured it wasn't any of her business. I asked why her grandson was Don Michael. It seems his father was Don & his grandfather was Michael. Mike McCulloch was the head of Monsanto at the time.

After the game, a cluster of ladies from Grace was standing out on the field laughing about how unusual it was for 2 little boys with the same name on opposing teams. One of the children was standing there & he said, "What's so unusual about that? We have 3 Nicholas'." Which, of course, made us laugh harder. How often do you find 2 children with the same double first name?