From the House of Paradise

Obviously, we talked about what Penny would do about her last name after we were married. I said that once we were married that she would be my bitch and would have to do everything I said.

Actually. that's not true at all.

I didn't have a preference one way or another. I said she could keep her name, hyphenate, we could both hyphenate...it doesn't really matter to me (...a Rajczyk by any other name...).

She likes my last name. And, phonically, she likes the way our kids names' will sound. Riley (Kate) Rajczyk. It looks cool and rolls out easily...Riley Rajczyk. Maybe she's a reporter ("this is Riley Rajczyk, signing off"), or maybe a politician. I can't help but see shortstop; agile, quick, can make the deep throw from the left-field grass look easy. ("Riley Rajczyk moves to her left, backhands the ball....and makes a spectacular throw from deeeep in the hole at short.") (Call me crazy.)

And it works with both of the boys names we like: Jack and Miles.

Jack Rajczyk. How many people do you know whose first and last names end with the letter K?

Jack Rajczyk....it sounds like a superhero's mild mannered (yet talented and stunning) alter ego. I like that hard consonant at the end of each name - "Hi, I'm jacK raczyK. Astronaut." His friends will probably call him JR. Maybe Junior (though, frankly, I hope not.)

Miles Rajczyk. That would be his mellower (but equally as talented) brother. It's not possible for a guy named Miles not to be cool. I love all the soft consonants leading up to the finalistic K: MMMM LLLLL SS, RRR SSSS K. It's hard not to imagine Miles as a musician (for obvious reasons) or a writer; introspective (like me), mellow (not like me).

Not that I've been thinking about that sort of thing.