Names Explained

Just thought I'd take a moment to explain how the boys got their names.

Harvey's registered racing name is "Get the Chance." When I adopted him, I thought (for a nano-second) about naming him Chance, but it just didn't suit him. I had other names selected too, but none of them seemed appropriate. Then it occured to me. Harvey.

Harvey is named after the rabbit in the Jimmy Stewart movie Harvey. If you haven't seen this wonderful film, I highly recommend it. Jimmy Stewart's character (Elwood), has an invisible friend (a pooka) named Harvey. With Harvey at his side Elwood is able to find contentment in his life (as his life is), and is gifted with the ability to allow others to do the same.

My sweet, sweet, Harvey. Oh, how he adds peace and magic to my life.

Jackson's racing name is "Bd's Joshua." Before I met him, I wanted to name Joshua "Ralph." Ralph is one of those names that just makes you chuckle, sort of like Fred, or Elmer.

After meeting Joshua, I decided that he wasn't really a Ralph. He's too pretty. It was suggested that I call him Joshua, but I know some Joshuas, and that's all I'm going to say about that! I was really struggling with what to call him. Not long after Joshua came home, I was flipping through a biography of Jackson Pollock. I remembered one of Pollock's paintings titled "Lavender Mist" and thought about how the painting so closely resembles Jackson's coloring. So that's how Joshua became Jackson.

Now, there's a slight problem with the name Jackson, and it didn't present itself until the name had already stuck. We live in Virginia, and here there are many associations with the Civil War. So, a lot of folks ask if Jackson was named after Stonewall Jackson. I get a lot of funny looks when I tell them the story of "Lavender Mist." In Virginia, Stonewall Jackson is definitely more popular than Jackson Pollock!