Monday, August 18, 2008

And their names are....

Jeeves and Wooster

My wife hates it when I do it when she's with us but, for quite some time now, I lie, quite pathologically, when strangers ask the names of our dogs.

I've been through most of the famous TV and movie pairs: Butch and Sundance, Starsky and Hutch, Tango and Cash, Laverne and Shirley, James West and Artimus Gordon (one of my favorites); for a while I'd use the name of US Presidents and Vice Presidents, especially the obscure ones. Theodore Roosevelt and Charles Fairbanks once lasted almost two weeks..

Musical duos was a popular phase; Peter and Gordon, Chad and Jeremy, Ashford and Simpson, Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra (one of my favorites).

I try to change the names every day or two. Sometimes we go out already prepared, increasingly however, I find I enjoy the excitement of improvisation.

Earlier today I took them to the park and a woman with a small dog asked "What are their names?"

"Fuckwaffle and Carlotta," I replied.

Then I quickly explained, "They were rescue dogs and had those names when they came to us. We tried to get them to accept new ones but they just don't seem to get it." I smiled helplessly.

She offered a number of tips on how to introduce new names. I thanked her and we moved on.

I feel a philosophical phase coming on.

I think I'll go see if Adorno and Horkheimer want a cookie.

9 comments:

Your driver said...

A friend in Brown County had two big goofy yellow dogs named Orbit and Satellite. Those are my two favorite real dog names. Your dogs have the best dog names real or otherwise.

Anonymous said...

and i'll bet they both are proponents of the 4 paws method of piano playing-

Stan Denski said...

A new week, and I'm thinking Bill Evans and Keith Jarrett; Count Basie and Duke Ellington; Oscar Peterson and Art Tatum; Thelonious and Bud.

"Thelonious and Bud" has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Anonymous said...

i much prefer jeff and beau bridges in the fabulous baker brothers (hate to show off and be a music snob and all...)

Stan Denski said...

Or you're just trying to suck up to Michelle Pfeiffer.

They had their comedy duo phase when they were Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello, Martin and Lewis, Tommy and Dick, and, for a whole week, The Ritz Brothers.

Now I'm thinking Bob and Albert since Sock usually gets 50% of Buster's food. Go to www.expectingrain.com and look at #8.

Anonymous said...

just not 'deleuze & guattari'... but I can definitely see Woodward & Bernstein, definitely Saco & Vanzetti...

Stan Denski said...

Ahhh... you must mean Baudrillard and Lyotard!

Th pleasures of saying "Sit, Baudrillard. Sit!" are incalcuable.

Anonymous said...

Rather:

'Play dead Baudrillard.'

Stan Denski said...

And, inevitably, "Roll over, Beethoven."