WHAT'S IN A NAME?
By Olivene Godfrey
The first 19 years of my life my official name was Olivene Brashear, an unusual name that many people couldn't pronounce properly. I grew up hearing my Brashear aunts in Tennessee tell about our ancestors, the French Huguenot immigrants who who came to America about 1635.
Sometimes Brashear descendants have spelled the name as Brazier. My grandfather's branch of the family spell the name Brashear but pronounced it Brazier, which was often confusing. I gave Barry the middle name of Brashear. When I tried to explain to a Florida couple that my daddy had four daughters, no sons, and his only brother had no children, were the last males with the Brashear name of our branch of the family, and when they died, the name did,too. The couple laughed and asked, "What are you,royalty or something? What does it matter if the name died out?" I wasn't able to explain to them that I grew up in a culture that placed great importance on a name.
I thought of my name, Olivene, recently when a doctor and a nurse commented on it. The doctor said he has an aunt named Olivene but the nurse had never heard it before. So, I told them the story of why I was given the name, Olivene. My
maternal grandfather was named, Oliver Green, and was reading a newspaper article and saw the name, Olivene, and told his children that he wanted the next granddaughter to be christened the name. And I was the lucky, or unlucky, granddaughter to be given the name. I have been hearing my name mispronounced all of my life. The correct way to pronounce it is Olive- vene as in bean. One advantage, I guess, is that people remember unusual names.
-------------------------------------------------
Barry had his final wisdom tooth removed last week and all went well. He still has all of his teeth and his goal now is to keep them.
-----------------------------------------------
Last Sunday, Barry and I ate an early lunch at the Village and took Christmas flowers to the cemetery to place on my late husband's grave. And since I have become somewhat of a hermit, Barry took me on a tour of Chatsworth. I was amazed that so many new houses and townhouses have been constructed. Also, there is a lot of commercial construction underway. When we moved here in the 1960s, Chatsworth was a tiny town and everybody knew each other. Nowadays, I rarely see anyone I know when I venture outside my house.
I have started the countdown to December 10, the day when , Lord willing, I will reach the Big Eight-O.
See you next time.
By Olivene Godfrey
The first 19 years of my life my official name was Olivene Brashear, an unusual name that many people couldn't pronounce properly. I grew up hearing my Brashear aunts in Tennessee tell about our ancestors, the French Huguenot immigrants who who came to America about 1635.
Sometimes Brashear descendants have spelled the name as Brazier. My grandfather's branch of the family spell the name Brashear but pronounced it Brazier, which was often confusing. I gave Barry the middle name of Brashear. When I tried to explain to a Florida couple that my daddy had four daughters, no sons, and his only brother had no children, were the last males with the Brashear name of our branch of the family, and when they died, the name did,too. The couple laughed and asked, "What are you,royalty or something? What does it matter if the name died out?" I wasn't able to explain to them that I grew up in a culture that placed great importance on a name.
I thought of my name, Olivene, recently when a doctor and a nurse commented on it. The doctor said he has an aunt named Olivene but the nurse had never heard it before. So, I told them the story of why I was given the name, Olivene. My
maternal grandfather was named, Oliver Green, and was reading a newspaper article and saw the name, Olivene, and told his children that he wanted the next granddaughter to be christened the name. And I was the lucky, or unlucky, granddaughter to be given the name. I have been hearing my name mispronounced all of my life. The correct way to pronounce it is Olive- vene as in bean. One advantage, I guess, is that people remember unusual names.
-------------------------------------------------
Barry had his final wisdom tooth removed last week and all went well. He still has all of his teeth and his goal now is to keep them.
-----------------------------------------------
Last Sunday, Barry and I ate an early lunch at the Village and took Christmas flowers to the cemetery to place on my late husband's grave. And since I have become somewhat of a hermit, Barry took me on a tour of Chatsworth. I was amazed that so many new houses and townhouses have been constructed. Also, there is a lot of commercial construction underway. When we moved here in the 1960s, Chatsworth was a tiny town and everybody knew each other. Nowadays, I rarely see anyone I know when I venture outside my house.
I have started the countdown to December 10, the day when , Lord willing, I will reach the Big Eight-O.
See you next time.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home