A Name by Any Other Rose

I just saw a thing on Facebook where somebody wanted suggestions for the name of her new tenor ukulele. I know there are people who name everything, and I know some of those people. I am married to one.

My wife named the riding mower Chewy, the push-mower was Nibble. There’s also Swishy the washing machine and Fluffy the dryer. In the garage we have Frosty, the big freezer, and our old refrigerator, Fridgie. (The fridge in the kitchen is Icy.)

She christens cars almost the minute she drives away from the showroom. We’ve had too many between us to list all their names here, but our current ride, a Chevy Equinox, is Belle. She is blue. (Get it?)

I never named any of my musical instruments, of which I have had dozens in my life, but this summer I rediscovered the ukulele, bought a couple new ones, and suddenly – they all have names.

What is it about the ukulele that makes people want to name them, I wonder. Maybe it’s because they’re little and cute and you cuddle them when you play.

Well, whatever the reason, I must now report that I have four ukuleles – a Martin soprano, a Kumalae soprano (that my friend Larry gave me), a Favilla baritone uke, and a Luna concert ukulele which are named, respectively, Marty, Larry, Barry, and LunaTunes.

And I don’t care who knows it.