Names

People often name their cars.  This is not particularly unusual.  My car has a name – Charlotte.  What other inanimate objects do we name?  Teddy bears, and stuffed animals.  The majority of mine have names.  None of that is too unusual, right? In the musician’s world, people sometimes name their insturments.  I don’t know if photographers name their cameras, or if a carpenter names his favorite hammer.  I don’t circulate in those worlds.  So perhaps this is strange, but we do.  In any matter, I’ve let the objects somehow tell me their own names.  How can you name something before you’ve interacted with it?  Charlotte helped me give her name, somehow.  She’s classic, elegant and timeless.  Unless you’ve done it, its hard to explain.

I’ve never been able to name my instrument though.  I’ve tried, but nothing really seemed right.  About a year ago, I finally figured out that both my oboe and my English horn are female.  Which is a step, but still not a name.  This week Loser, the grad student, asked to borrow my English horn.  I don’t like him and I don’t want him using my instrument, so I said no.  I told him he should use the school’s instrument instead.  He proceeded to tell me that it was being used, or else he would have used it, since its a superior instrument than mine.  I nearly jumped through the computer and killed him.  My baby is one of the best out there.  Professionals have told me they want to buy it.  The people who have worked on it also comment on what a great instrument it is.  Its not perfect, because perfection is impossible.  Its flaws make it wonderful.  Anyways, my hackles rose.  The school’s instrument is crap, and as Loser has never touched mine, how dare he compare her!?  Somewhere admist the anger and protection of my baby, I found her name.  My English horn is Lydia.  Quickly to follow, was the oboe’s name – Elizabeth.  Not sure why this took so long, but I’m so happy I’ve finally found their names. 

The picture is one I took a while ago of Elizabeth for my oboe website.  Now that she’s got a proper name, I want one of Lydia too.  It will come eventually.