I named our first mini dachshund Aliera (which was promptly shortened to Alli). She was a gentle soul and a good friend (and I'm really not much of a "dog guy"). When I slid my motorcycle on gravel on a short curve out in the country on the way to work and crashed, she slept with me on the counch for three weeks while I recovered (I had to sleep sitting up because of a broken collarbone and numerous cracked ribs). I didn't ask her to do that - she seemed to know that I was hurting. She kinda stole my heart when I wasn't looking, I guess. Later that summer, she clonked heads with my son while playing with him, rolling around on the floor. It was a totally innocent accident. It somehow mangled her spine such that she was dragging her hind legs around. She died a week later during the week of 9/11. Her senseless death somehow gave me a tangible hook into the national grief. I wept bitterly that week, something that I just don't do. We buried her in the backyard under the shelter of a very maternal white pine tree. Linda found a copper cutout of a dog on a slender pole. We painted her name on it and set it there under the tree as a memorial. It's odd to learn about selfless love from an animal, but she taught me more than I ever expected, more than I really wanted. Aliera meant more to me than I knew until she was gone. Her name was lyrical and her short life (there's a pun for you) was magical. We are grateful for the loan of the name. johne (phy) cook wisconsin, usa personal blog: http://breezeway.blogspot.com aerie blog: http://aeriepress.blogspot.com/ stormfort list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/stormfort/ "Almost any act of (creative) expression is an act of courage. Whenever you write (something) and you show it to someone else, it's an act of courage because it's your life, it's who you are and you're laying it out on the table and you're either going to be rejected or accepted." Terry Scott Taylor >From: Trevor Fiatal <trevor at fiatal.net> >To: David Silberstein <davids at kithrup.com> >CC: Dragaera List <dragaera at dragaera.info> >Subject: Re: Concerning Names >Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2003 23:23:08 -0700 > >David Silberstein wrote: > > >> http://www.geocities.com/edgarbook/names/c/ciaran.html >> >> Etymology: Ciarán is an Irish Gaelic name meaning "Little Dark One" >> History: Ciaran (or Kieran) was an early Irish name that died out >> before the Middle Ages. As a saint's name, it was probably >>considered too holy for everyday use. It has been revived in >> Ireland, and in the United States, to a small degree. >> Pronunciation: kee-a-rawn, kee-ran. >> Alternates: Ciaran, Kiaran, Kieren, Kieran, Kieron, Keiran. > >My youngest (6 weeks old) son's middle name is Kieran. I tried for Kieron, >but the wife was adamantly against that. And yes, I'm willing to admit, I >selected that name as a result of Mr. Brust's nefarious influences. :) > >-Trevor _________________________________________________________________ Fretting that your Hotmail account may expire because you forgot to sign in enough? Get Hotmail Extra Storage today! http://join.msn.com/?PAGE=features/es