Well, you know I like words. I also like names and I've been getting a feast of them all this spring and summer. The boys of summer, that is, the baseball players, have wonderful names. I am so Impressed with the announcers, too, who not only know their names but also how to pronounce them. Spelling might be a problem.

Usually, when I have to make up a character's name, I take a name from the Atlas, so I won't get sued. Does anyone remember what happened to Grace Metalious (1924-1964), who wrote Peyton Place (1956)? She named a character in her book after an accquaintance? co-worker? of her husband. Her steamy novel turned out to be a run-away best seller and the man sued her for libel.

So I always pick out random names from a map that I can point to as the source, not that I'll ever write a best-seller. (Too late now.)

If I used any of the baseball players' names no one would believe me, anyway.

Yangervris Solarte

Aedmys Diaz

Teoscar Hernandez

Lourdes Gurriel.Jr. (Madonna called her first child Lourdes so I thought it was a girl's name but I guess it's generic.)

Marco Estrada (What a swash-buckling hero he would be!)

I love them all. I've been thinking about them for some time and then I came across a line by J.C. (the only byline I could see) in the June 1 edition of the Times Literary Supplement:

"Only childish souls make fun of people's names." I wouldn't make fun of them. I cherish them, like words.