Fixin' to Jump in Texas

September 8, 2017
What's in a Name?

Ever since I can remember I've always had difficulty with my name. I'm named after my Dad but he doesn't spell it with the letter "O" in the middle. Funny, to this day I never asked him why he and my Mom decided that I would be named that way. They could have named me "Junior" or something completely normal but no, they gave me his name with a funny "O" smack in the middle.

I have to admit it makes me pretty unique. There are a lot of Rauls but not a whole lot of RaOuls. Except maybe in France where there are more guys with the same fancy spelling. Legend has it that my grandfather named my Dad Raul because his favorite book was The 3 Musketeers (actually, The Man with the Iron Mask) and Raoul was the bastard son of Athos, one of the musketeers (maybe I'm a bastard son?!?! Now that explains a lot of things!!! :-D) Whatever! To this day I always have to spell out my name in slow motion --- especially on the phone. One time I was talking to an outsourced dyslexic tech support and he could not pronounce or spell my name. I laughed so hard I hung up the phone to end his misery. Poor guy! Actually ... poor me!

I share all of this because the video below is about an African with the strangest name ever! I was bawling in tears because I could relate. Be sure to watch it.

Have you ever googled your name? If you google my whole name, I'm the only Raoul Pascual for several pages. No kidding! No SEO (Search Engine Optimization) needed. Identity Theft may be a little difficult in my case. (BTW, If you're a hacker, this is not a challenge --- please keep my name out of your dastardly deeds!)

And what about the way my name is pronounced? Some of my best friends call me RAY-OOL or RAWL or ROLL instead of RA-OOL (the right way to pronounce it). I've stopped trying to correct them. However my name slides off their mouths is fine with me. Just don't call me "Hey you!"

Another problem with my name is it sounds Spanish. And so I get a lot of Spanish junk advertisement. Habla Espanol pero muy poquito! [I speak very little Spanish]. And when I purchase something in a store and I swipe my card and the cashier looks at my name and then verifies my face, there's always the double look: "Hmmm ... Spanish name but Asian features? Where did you steal this card?"

But despite all that, I love my name. It's what my parents decided for me. It's what my wife and I gave to my son. And maybe ... just maybe .. it will be a name that will bring happy thoughts every Friday morning.

What's in your wallet? I know! YOUR NAME!

TGIF people!

"The sole purpose of a child's middle name,
is so he can tell when he's really in trouble."

Fixin' to Jump in San Antonio, Texas
Contributed by Tom of Pasadena, CA

One day a gentle Texas lady was driving across a high bridge in San Antonio. As she neared the middle of the bridge, she noticed a young man fixin’ to jump.

("fixin' to" in Texas means getting ready to).

She stopped her car, rolled down the window and said, "Please don't jump! Think of your dear mother and father."

He replied, "My mom and dad are both dead; I'm going to jump."

She said, "Well, think of your sweet wife and precious children."

He replied, "I'm not married, and I don't have any kids."

She said, "Well then, you just remember the Alamo."

He replied, ''What's the Alamo?''

She replied, "Well, bless your heart! You just go ahead and jump ... you little Yankee rascal! You're holding up traffic."

What Do You Call Them?
Contributed by Garie of Makati, Philippines

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