On naming blogs and parakeets

My thanks to those who have signed on to my new blog. As I write this, there are five contributors listed, and I hope more will be added to the list in coming days.

The name I chose for this blog means "My Dear Friends." That I would pick an Italian name for it was pretty much a foregone conclusion, and the only other name I seriously considered was "Convivio," which means "Banquet." "Convivio" happens also to be the title of a treatise written by Dante, and would have been a good name as well, although I like the one I chose just fine. And so, the name of this blog is and shall remain "I miei cari amici." (I might have considered "La Vita Nuova," but alas, there is already a blog with that name. It bills itself as "a discussion of all things Dante." I've added a couple of comments to it, and I am hoping the administrator will take note of this and invite me to become a full-fledged member.)

Speaking of names, some of you may know about the parakeet we acquired back in September. It showed up in our former bishop's backyard one day, and his wife called and asked if we were interested in providing it a home. I was not a party to the conversation, but Sheila later relayed the request to me. Of course, I said; we already had two cockatiels, so one more bird would fit in just fine. Although I have at times felt like Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose, and although we have all had to learn how to tune out the constant chirping and squawking of three noisy birds whenever we watch TV, I have never regretted the decision. The worst problem we have had was trying to come up with a suitable name for the newcomer. At first we thought of Rosina, after the heroine of "The Barber of Seville," but the name never stuck, and for the next three months we had a very lively and loud parakeet with no name. Finally, I came up with a name that caught on once and for all -- Elbie. Her full name is Elbie Jaye, in honor of the nation's 36th President, although in point of fact, Elbie's actual political views are a bit unclear to me. So far, however, she appears to have registered no objection to the name.