April 19, 2022
“. . . for a rose by any other name smells as sweet.” – Juliet, from Romeo & Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2 Were they to meet in the after world and strike up a conversation, Sir Thomas would disagree with Mr. Shakespeare on the subject of names. Tommy knew that, called by any other name, he needn’t respond. I made up so many on-the-spot names for him throughout our time together. Rarely did we go out uninterrupted, whether while grocery shopping, dining out, walking down the street or in an airport bathroom. Someone always stopped to ask his name. Most often, the stranger was polite, if clueless about interrupting his work. The last thing I wanted was for the person to start calling out to him and really mess with his focus. So, I invented names. But Tommy never even cocked an ear when he heard Teacup, Spot, Sire, […]