What’s In A Name?
by John Weckerle
Today, we received the following response from Tom Sievert to Chuck Ring’s December 22, 2009 article about naming the Edgewood public library (we subsequently endorsed Mr. Ring’s position that the library should be named for Mark Jensen and his mother, Alta Mae Jensen in our January 6 article):
“Alta Mae was My mom’s baby sister. Mark was my cousin. Both deserve and should be honored. Please, though, don’t tag my beloved Altamamma with the moniker Ms. She was devoted to her husband Maurice. If you knew Maurydad, you know the nut that was Mark did not fall far from the tree. I do believe Alta Mae would want to be remembered as Mrs. Alta Mae Jensen. Missing Mark, Altamama and Maureydad.
Tom.”
We will postpone discussion of the distinction between the honorifics “Ms” and “Mrs” for the time being, although we understand Mr. Siefert’s point and intend to discuss it further in a future article. We would prefer to address the issue of naming the library, for now. We understand that the Edgewood Town Council has, in the past, wrestled with the issues surrounding naming of public assets, and that there are issues to be resolved on that front.
In this particular situation, however, we think the Town Council can act without risking impropriety. We call on the Town once again to name the library after Mark Jensen and his mother, Alta Mae.
One Response “What’s In A Name?”
John,
Thanks for pointing out Mr. Sievert’s response. I have posted a reply and hope it will help assuage Mr. Sievert’s concerns.
Thanks again,
Chuck Ring