What's in a Name?

This morning I was int he process of tuning out a commercial on the radio when the announcer go a few words through my haze. The commercial was for ome sort of medical facility. The announcer, in touting the advantages of the particular sawmill, noted a good doctor by the name of YAO.

That got me going...

Yao, you see is the sound I make when I get a shot; it is the sound I make when I stub my toe. It is the elocution evacuated when I sliced my finger with the butcher knife...It is NOT the sound I want to hear when my doctor hands me his business card (you may well hear it when I get the bill!).

I supposed that rose-by-any-other-name gig kicks in here, but still...my doctor's "handle" being the sound of pain?...I think not.

Now my name as, well, guttural as it is, has an appeal, of sorts in my line of work, and my "StreetSmarts" TR (that's trademark) is an easy evolution. All this got me thinking about the names and slogans of a few of the folks with whom I associate.

My 2 favorites are competitors in the disagreeable area of septic tank cleaning. We all know what septic tanks are -- they are where all that, uhhh, flushing goes, and a cleaner of septic tanks keeps all that stuff running in the right direction (read that as not back up your pipes.

One company bills itself as, "we are number one in the number two business". Yup...right on the side of the trucks. The other is more scatological. That second company touts the benefits as it is by telling us, "a Royal Flush is better than a 'Full House' ". Not a bad poker play on words.

I supposed a doctor with a painful name may be good...certainly I remember it. It's not like my friend, Dr. Bottom --- the proctologist.