30 days and change: DAY 2

DAY 2: How did you get your name?

Word Count: 225

My mom didn’t even name me; knowing my mom, it’s her brand. August 21, 1991. It was a hot, humid, and hectic night at Dosher Memorial Hospital. Out pops Torian. But at first, he was “cigar.” Now, how did we get from cigar to Torian? My uncle Todd and my grandmother Earla Maye. My mom often prefaces the story with the fact that she was least concerned with the name and was more concerned by the sex of the child—a boy. She wanted a girl, so she had no names picked and prepared to fit the perfect peculiar little baby.

When asked for the new baby boy's name, my mother echoes her sentiments in the form of a little offbeat rudeness, “I don’t care if you name him cigar.” Yes. A cylinder of tobacco rolled in tobacco leaves for smoking as defined by Merriam-Webster. If you can imagine a grandmother’s shock, she sprang into action.

Searching their minds through names alongside her accomplice, Uncle Todd, they came up with the name Torian. My granny, Earla Maye, came up with the name after loving the 80’s actor Tauren Blacque. Tauren was made famous for his roles on ‘Hill Street Blues.’ HSB was an NBC television series airing from 1981 to 1987 with 146 episodes. With a few changes, Tauren became Torian!