Don’t lament just the loss of blacksmith’s shops, manual typewriters, dial phones and vehicular hand signals.
Other more-important symbols of the past are going down the nostalgic tubes.
Gander at the obituaries for proof—other than that you’re still among the living.
Look at the disappearing given names—especially for persons older than a half-century.
Say goodbye to Amelia, Beatrice, Molly, Agnes, Florence, Gertrude, Ruby, Harriet, Golda, Nancy, Olive, Petunia, Zelda and Wanda.
Say adieu to Adolf, Herbert, Abraham, Delbert, Fred, Horace, Homer, Elmer, Leland, Montague, Daniel, Garth, Jerome, Seth and Beauregard.
No longer are parents guilty of picking names that inspire schoolyard teasing and fistfights.
Parents now are naming their children after role models: Paris, Kobe, Jacko, Monica, O.J. and Brittany. (1 JANUARY 2006)
