So there I am flying back to Dallas after an MRA conference and board meeting, minding my own business when this nice lady next to me asks if it is ok if Bertha stays there. Since I was in a row with just the two of us I wasn’t sure what she was talking about.
So I said, "Excuse me what do you mean?"
Again she asked, "Is it ok if Bertha stays there?"
I still wasn’t sure what she was referring to, but this time she points and says, "Oh! I am sorry. My purse, Bertha." After I responded with a hesitated "sure Bertha can stay there", I was wondering if there was a brand of purse named Bertha or did she actually name her purse Bertha? That is exactly what she did: she named her purse Bertha, and the nice lady said Bertha (named after a friend of hers) has traveled all over the world with her.
It gave me a little reason to pause and think about people naming things. Yes people name their stuffed animals or their dolls.
But what other things do people name?
Cars?
- House?
- Baseball bat?
What do you have names for?
What about your friends?
I look forward to reading your comments.
Joyce Rachelson says:
I named my cane Tommy. He has a toucan head for a handle and it just seem to fit.
When I was in the hospital, having a hip replaced, the staff named my walker Speed Racer because I had a tendency to move faster than they thought was safe. I was just in a hurry to get out of there.
Years ago, I had a beautiful Pontiac GTO. White exterior, black leather interior. I called her Guinevere
Christopher Dallion says:
My truck I named Truckasaurus after an episode of The Simpsons where they go to a demolition derby and things are destroyed by a monster truck of the same name. It also is sometimes called The Behemoth or The Beast.
Stephenie Gordon says:
i usually name everything. My dad used to, which is where i get it from. You need to add Boats to that list. Any mode of transportation usually gets a name!
We just acquired my brother’s kegerator. It will need a name once it’s functioning. I’m thinking “The Big Gulp”, but not sure yet. It hasn’t spoken to me.
Merrill Dubrow says:
Stephenie,
I can’t be the only one (I hope) not to know. what is a kegerator?
Merrill
Stephenie Gordon says:
Really???? It’s a refrigerator specifically designed to hold a keg of beer and has a tap on top for serving. I am sure you saw a couple in college.
here you go:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kegerator
Merrill Dubrow says:
Stephenie,
Oh duh! I know what it is I was actually thinking it was a motorcycle.
Thanks.
Merrill
Elizabeth says:
I name my houseplants – Phineas the Ficus and Moe.
Paul Kirch says:
OK, I have a pregnant wife and we’ve been discussing names for the baby (we’re having a boy in April). We were looking at a book of baby names and ran across Biblical names, which included Joseph, Gabriel, Paul, etc. There on the list was Balthazar. We laughed, thinking we would never name our baby Balthazar, which we won’t. However we have now nicknamed our unborn child Balthazar (or Balthy) for short.
Bob Graham says:
I refer to my 93 Mustang convertible as “Sally” after the Wilson Pickett song.
I call our GPS “Veronica” after the title character on “Veronica Mars” one of my favorite TV shows. It irks my wife, when I say “Just ask Veronica. She’ll know which way to go…”
Amy Shields says:
I think the naming of the GPS has become rather trendy! I have a good friend who named hers “Betty”, while mine is “Rodney”. Speaking of Bertha, I have always called the BIG slots in Vegas, “Big Bertha”. (There was one at Mirage for years that I won $1,200-$1,800 on every year, 8 years running; I was very sad when they retired her!) My espresso machine in “Joseph” and my bed is “Heaven”. Yes, I recognize that this might cause some psychological issues for my children when my number is up, but I’m hoping to live a long enough life that my kids understand when someone says “She’s gone to heaven”, they aren’t referring to my going to bed for the night! I have the habit of calling people that I care about “Poopy” or “Sparky”, and as of an hour ago, I officially call New York “home”!
Ken says:
Pauls Balthazar story reminded me of the name we had for our unborn son. Cletus T. Fetus (Cletus the Fetus). I guess neither name is suitable once they are born…unless your last name is Zappa.
Michelle Ziadie says:
We name most things: we call the minivan the “neo-maxi zoon dweebi”- neo maxi for short. We call our 3rd run around car, (a VW Rabbit) the ‘pizza car” it looks like the kind of car a person delivering pizza’s should drive.
When we were moving house, in order to keep track of potential homes on the short list, we named all of them, they were: “the ganja house” “grainy grain” “guacamole” “the mouse house” were the front runners. none of them made it to the finals.
the kids all have their pet names: the oldest is ‘buggy’, the middle one is “goose” and the baby is “mooshi”… no rhyme or reason, it’s just what popped in my head when they arrived!
my poor husband is linked with many names, but most often when he is puttering around the house I’ll call him Tinkerbell, as he is always tinkering with something or other. This infuriates him to the point of madness, which makes it all the more fun to keep calling him Tinkerbell.
we name nights “discount date night”, “hodge podge”
I could go on for ages with more items, but it could get boring!