A Name

A Name

A few months before I was born">

A Name

A few months before I was born, my mother was being hounded by my siblings. They each had their own idea on what to name the new baby and each of them wanted the honor of the naming. My mother reached over and took my father's hat down from the hat rack. Then picking a small pad a scrap paper and a pencil, she said, "We'll draw the new baby's name from the hat.

"I think we should name him Joseph." So she wrote down 'J-O-S-E-P-H', folded the paper, and dropped it into the hat.

My oldest sister, Dodie said, "I would like Albert, like Albert Einstein. Then he'll be a genius."
My mother said, "Albert." She wrote down 'J-O-S-E-P-H', folded the paper, and dropped it into the hat.

My oldest brother, Johnny said, "Call him 'the trash'. I already have a brother and he's too small to play with."
My mother said, "Trash." She wrote down 'J-O-S-E-P-H', folded the paper, and dropped it into the hat.

Cindy said, "I want Claude. It starts with a 'C', just like Cindy."
My mother said, "Claude." She wrote down 'J-O-S-E-P-H', folded the paper, and dropped it into the hat.

Diane wanted Eric. "That means strong and when he grows up he can keep Johnny off our backs."
My mother said, "Eric." She wrote down 'J-O-S-E-P-H', folded the paper, and dropped it into the hat.

Joyce said, "Trash" She was named with a 'J' name after Johnny and always agreed with him. Do you think she did it to keep him off her back?
My mother said, "Trash again." She wrote down 'J-O-S-E-P-H', folded the paper, and dropped it into the hat.

Gary was only two. He said, "Stuffy!" That was the name of his stuffed bunny.
My mother said, "Stuffy." She wrote down 'J-O-S-E-P-H', folded the paper, and dropped it into the hat.

No wonder that, when my father reached into the hat, the name he pulled out was 'Joseph'.

A week before I was born, my mother went into labor. At the hospital, dilated, ready to deliver, she fell asleep. The next morning, the doctor told her that he couldn't understand how the baby wasn't born. He said it was very unusual for a delay like this on a seventh child.

When my mom got home, she found out one of my uncles had died in the night. She thought I didn't want to be born the same time as my uncle's death.

Just after midnight, six days later, she was rushed to the hospital and I was born before my father could finish checking her in. It was 2:07 a.m. March 19th, 1958, St. Joseph's Feast Day.
My mother is convinced that she picked the right name.

Papa Joe ~ Biographical Stories

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