When my teenage son, David, read me his A.P. English assignment this afternoon -I asked him if I could share it with you. As you can tell, he said it was okay.
A junior in high school, he doesn't enjoy writing all that much, but when a topic is this close to his heart, he rises to the occasion.
What's in a Name?
I've grown up with one minor difficulty. It does not concern my height, weight, or hair texture. It is my name - David Joseph Kraft.
Now, don’t get me wrong, David is awesome and Joseph is superb. It's my last name that's the real problem.
When I looked up the meaning of my name I came up with these results: David means beloved, Joseph means prince… and Kraft means Mac n cheese. I am the Beloved prince of Mac n cheese. Not so awesome.
I can survive with the meaning of my name, if I never had to share it. Yet,inevitably I'm asked for my name on a daily basis. Since I do it so often I have come up with a foolproof routine:
Hello, my name is David, David Kraft with a K.
You would not believe how many times people still spell it with a 'C'. Then I'll get the comment, "Like the Mac n Cheese?!?" "Yes it is, how original." They ignore my sarcasm and respond with, "Oh sweet that is so awesome."
They ask the next question, "Are you related?"
"Well, if I was related do you think I would be buying this .99 cent cheeseburger from you?"
I mean really, I know I'm not supposed to hold a grudge but there's this one kid...
Every day in the hall he purposely catches my eye and goes “Hey Mac n Cheese!" He who shall not be named really chaps my hide. It might have been funny the first or maybe even second time, but after 2 years it really starts to get old.
Then I get the nick names. They include Krafty, Kraftubee and my favorite Kraftibulator! I personally do not mind these nicknames because I have a sense of humor. But, I sure feel bad for my little sister. She is going to have a rough time.
I guess all in all, Kraft is a cool last name after you get past all of the misspellings, annoyingly repetitive people, and the crazy nick names.
Thanks a lot Dad.
