This is the obligatory lens about me.
The origin of my name, once shrouded in deepest mystery and uncertainty, has in recent years surfaced in stark, anticlimactic, clarity.
Contents at a Glance
Multiple Origins
There are, in all actuality, two origins of my first name. The first origin, also known as "the pre-truth origin" or "the fabricated origin", was the more prestigious and dashing. The second origin, otherwise referred to as "the real origin" or "the sorry-but-it-was-actually-like-this origin", is the more unimpressive but true. Allow me to explain.
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Mother named me Damien, after her father. She had only known him as a small child, and had been told that he was from Spain. (In an interesting aside, apparently Grandfather changed his name to Danny upon arrival to the States, believing Damien to be a bit too un-American.) Grandfather left Grandma when Mother was still very young, and having never heard from him since, it was assumed that he was dead. This is the first origin: an exotic Spanish grandfather who mysteriously disappeared. Name Books
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Truly the Truth
But then Grandfather reappeared. Somehow Mother tracked him down, living in California, strumming his guitar and cruising on his Harley. Still alive, and in truth from Mexico, not Spain. Foreign, to be sure, but about as exotic as a Taco Bell in Omaha, Nebraska. This is the second origin: A hippie Mexican grandfather who had not mysteriously died. My Favorite Damien
Damien de Veuster, SS.CC. (January 3, 1840April 15, 1889), born Jozef de Veuster and also known as Blessed Damien of Molokai ( or ''), was a Roman Catholic priest from Belgium and member of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, a missionary religious order. He is to become a saint on 11 October 2009. He won recognition for his ministry to people with leprosy (also known as Hansens Disease), who had been placed under a government-sanctioned medical quarantine on t...
Which to Use?
Then which do I prefer: the illustrious lie or the unadorned truth? In this instance I believe in situational ethics. If I want to impress, then I tell the first story. If I want to be honest, then I tell the second. Herein lies the beauty of spoken histories: they live and evolve.
by cactusdo
Back to my USA home after two years as a volunteer in Belgium and France, found a lovely wife and we're figuring out life together. (more)
