The poet T.S. Eliot wrote a book of poems entited "The naming of Cats" It went on to become a smash hit for over twenty years on Broadway when put to music by Andrew Lloyd Weber. It starts out as follows:
The Naming of Cats is a difficult matter,
It isn't just one of your holiday games;
You may think at first I'm as mad as a hatter
When I tell you, a cat must have THREE DIFFERENT NAMES.
First of all, there's the name that the family use daily,
Such as Peter, Augustus, Alonzo or James,
Such as Victor or Jonathan, George or Bill Bailey--
All of them sensible everyday names.
There are fancier names if you think they sound sweeter,
Some for the gentlemen, some for the dames:
Such as Plato, Admetus, Electra, Demeter--
But all of them sensible everyday names.
But I tell you, a cat needs a name that's particular,
A name that's peculiar, and more dignified,
Else how can he keep up his tail perpendicular,
Or spread out his whiskers, or cherish his pride?
Of names of this kind, I can give you a quorum,
Such as Munkustrap, Quaxo, or Coricopat,
Such as Bombalurina, or else Jellylorum-
Names that never belong to more than one cat.
But above and beyond there's still one name left over,
And that is the name that you never will guess;
The name that no human research can discover--
But THE CAT HIMSELF KNOWS, and will never confess.
When you notice a cat in profound meditation,
The reason, I tell you, is always the same:
His mind is engaged in a rapt contemplation
Of the thought, of the thought, of the thought of his name:
His ineffable effable
Effanineffable
Deep and inscrutable singular Name.
This past week-end we went to Phoenix for the blessing and naming of Jesse and Cori's new baby girl Eden. Eden Yvette Lindstrom to be precise. Two sets of proud grandparents were there, as were six uncles and aunts, 2 cousins, 2 siblings, 2 parents and one great grandma ( or super grandma as Grant and Grace like to say) Why such a fuss for a 4 week old baby that won't remember the event or anything that was said. It is because we will remember and it is a big deal to get a name. Eden, for the Garden of Eden, a place created by God and was perfectly beutiful. A place for our first parents. Yvette is a combination of Grandma Sandy's middle name Yvone and Grandma Marla's middle name Vanette, thus Yvette. Finally ,Lindstrom the the father's family name, after his father and his before him.. If the baby was born into a Hispanic culture she might also have her Mother's last name, Whitaker, somewhere in the name. This name came from the children of two familys coming together and starting a family of their own. The Lindstroms are from Sweeden but there are also the Rockwoods and Mckibbins from England and Ireland on grandma Sandy's side. The Whitakers come from England, but there's also the Grovers, from England and the Gardners from Scottland. There also the Baileys, Bills ad Woods on Grandma Marla's side. The collective experiences and genics of all of these great families go into the forming of the physical body for Eden. They also make up a great part of the family traditions as these two familie come to together in the forming of Jesse' and Cori's family.
So a name is a big deal. In the old testament Jacob wrestled with the Angle of the Lord and had his name changed to Israel. Elizabeth was told that her baby was to be named John and Mary was told the the babe was to be named Jesus. Eden comes from great families to be sure, but it goes back even further than that. She is a direct decendant of Ephram and Joseph ( the one with the multi-coloured coat) That makes her a direct decendent of Abraham and Issac. No matter what her heritage may be, she is lastly a chld of God and an heir through the Priesthood of her father to every thing the Father hath. So the name and the blessing is a big deal. One certainly worth gathering the family together from all parts.
