Thursday, May 15, 2008

Names

Bill Cosby said...."Always end the name of your child with a vowel so that when you yell, the name will carry."

I always wondered why Mom always bemoaned the name "Dean". She complained that Dad could never hear her when she called for him, that it was impossible to get vocal power behind his name. Now I get it. It's a closed loop: "Dean". Two vowels enclosed by two D sounds. No wonder. She often defaults to the sounds "Whooo-hoo" said over and over again to get his attention and he has learned this means the same as "Dean", especially when he is in another room.

It's true....yelling Laura carries more weight than yelling Chris. But, when yelling Denny, even the "Y" sound is worthless because he can't hear anymore. He claims I'm mumbling but I know better. It's either that or the incessant drone of Fox News that drowns out even vowels yelled full force. Dig. I can't resist.

3 comments:

  1. Ha ha! I hear you - even though others seem not too. =) I wonder if it is more than just names. I talk to me children and I actually think they do not hear ANYTHING I say. When giving "direction" to Kelan and Lauren they don't even twitch their head in my direction giving me some sign that they have even heard a sound. I often turn to my mom friends and ask if THEY have heard me.....was I not talking out loud?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jeanne: your kids have names ending in the strong consonant sound of "N". I wonder if that has anything to do with it....

    ReplyDelete
  3. Maybe the names need to be short if they end in a non-vowel. I know I used to be able to holler Moooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooom and let the O ring out. Granted with our Mom, Mary Margaret tends to get her attention better ;D

    ReplyDelete

Leave a comment!