The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, 10,000 Baby Names, and the ever changing "We"

Testing. Testing. One, Two... is this thing on?

I have been so derelict as a blogger, and I apologize. Links to goofy Kung Fu movies, and cowbell fever were not the original intent of my blog. But you know what is? Giving you both the minutiae and general gist of the life of this mountain power lineman.

In the spirit of that statement, I have an announcement. Ahem..
My wife and I are expecting our first child in January. To be honest, it has been a desire of ours to have children for quite a while, and now that it is coming...it almost doesn't feel real. Right now, I am looking forward to hearing the heartbeat. A little later we'll get to see the ultrasound.
So, now that we actually have a real countdown, the challenge to pick a name is upon us. We got a copy of one of those books that has thousands of baby names. What they don't advertise is that the book is full of names like Septimus and Eleazar. Does anyone actually slap an unfortunate moniker like Leopoldine on their own daughter?
Right now, we are carefully searching. Though not everyone values the theories of statisticians, I tend to agree with Freakonomics authors Levitt and Dubner, names can change a life. Don't tell my wife, but right now I'm leaning towards Cromwell.

Also in the spirit of things childlike, I was reminded of a favorite book of mine from my more formative years. The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by Chris Van Allsburg has always captivated me. You may remember it as the book that your school teacher showed you. It has only pictures and curious captions. I know my teacher had us use it to get us to write stories. Here are two of my favorite pictures. Write your own stories.

This first picture:
The Seven Chairs "The Fifth one ended up in France"









This one to the left:

Captain Tory "He swung his lantern three times and slowly the schooner appeared.

I love Chris Van Allsburg books. They have a certain sweetness, melancholy, and mystery to them. In some ways they remind me of M. Night Shyamalan's movies. It is what is not said that allows the imagination to invent. Next on my list of book purchases will likely be The Stranger. Check it out.

So, in something resembling a conclusion, life is going to change around these parts. The content of "we" and "us" will soon be increased by one. Life goes on. And I can hardly wait.