And so it began...

I was born in the town of Peoria, Illinois on the 5th day of 1982 in the late afternoon. Technically there had not been a full moon yet so by the Chinese calendar I was born in the year of the rooster 1981. It is typical of the weather in Illinois to be snowy this time of year. True to it's nature it not only snowed but gave way to a blizzard. My father loves to tell me that on this late afternoon as I was being born due to the blizzard the sky was glowing red. Like the blizzard to Illinois, my naming was was somewhat freakish in it's own right but common to it's locality. My parents are not the best planners. When it came time for me to be born they still did not have my name quite figured out. My father thought it would be nice to make my middle name the same as my paternal and maternal grandmother's middle names. This was a good theory and I did end up with a lovely middle name. However what my father thought was the common name between the two actually belonged to neither. My first name was suggested by my grandfather who said he always liked the name though he didn't know why. Later he recalled it was the name of a cousin that had died in a house fire. This is something that always intrigued me. My last name of course came with much less drama. It is a fine Irish name that I anticipate dying with.