Oddfellows

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"
---Romeo and Juliet (II, ii)
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This is a trifling detail from a serious story in today's news, but it dovetails nicely with an esoteric thought, namely: is naming destiny?

From a story on a missing Tennessee woman, Karen Johnson Swift, who had recently filed for divorce, was this odd tidbit:

On Saturday, sheriff's deputies arrested a neighbor of the Swifts', 39-year-old John E. Hogshooter, on an outstanding felony warrant for animal cruelty. Hogshooter is accused of poisoning two dogs, including one that belonged to the Swifts.

"[Hogshooter's] arrest was based solely on the outstanding aggravated animal cruelty warrant and that is a felony," Sheriff Box told the Dyersburg State Gazette. "We basically waited on the lab results to come back from the TBI on the poisoning and they confirmed it."

Because Hogshooter allegedly poisoned Swift's dog and lives in close proximity to her residence, investigators impounded his vehicle and searched his home after she went missing. Authorities did not find any items connecting him to Swift's disappearance and do not consider him a suspect.

A friend facing a judgment in traffic court knew she was sunk when she came before Judge Doom. Dr. Graves is an AIDS advocate. Well, the list goes on and on. They are called aptronyms -- names that fit the possessor's occupation. I have come across so many in my life, I wish I'd kept a list as they are often bizarrely amusing.

Do you have any personal experience with naming-as-destiny? Have you ever had to contend with this phenomenon?

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REMINDER:

Join us @ brother blog MILPUB 15 November for the maiden voyage of the Military Book Club. It doesn't matter if you've never attended a book club before -- the is NOT YOUR MOTHER's book club!

Get your questions ready

Reading: David Kilcullen's, The Accidental Guerrilla