Some Down Sides To Being Named 'Harvey'

(Hurricane Harvey)

"A good name is to be chosen over great riches."

- Proverbs 22:1

I've never been crazy about my name, though I'm sure my parents could have chosen worse. I could have been named after my dad's only full brother, George, an ultra conservative who distanced himself from most of the rest of his family. As it turned out, my parents chose to name me after my uncle Harv, one of Dad's many half brothers. And since I was their eighth child, maybe they felt the best names were already taken.

Sadly, Harv never became my favorite uncle, either. He lived in a distant state and was someone I never got to know well.

But I'm OK with my name. And we later had a great (unrelated) neighbor named Harvey Yoder, and my older sister at times stayed with a wonderful Harvey Yoder family in Newport News while she was in nurses training.

In later life I did get some occasionally ribbing about the imaginary 6 foot, 3 1/2 inch rabbit in Mary Chase's well known play "Harvey". But that's OK, too.

More recently I've sometimes been confused with a Harvey who shares my last name and who is the author of numerous books widely read in some Mennonite circles. It so happens that we have almost identical church backgrounds, that neither of has a middle name, and that if one googles Harvey Yoder on the internet, it may be hard to tell which is which. But that's not a big problem, either, though I've frequently had to explain that I'm not that better known Mennonite author.

But now, horrors, I'm being associated with a hurricane with characteristics that are everything I don't want ascribed to me--violent, destructive, terrorizing and life threatening (On the slightly positive side, I've learned there have been many babies born in the past few days who were named Harvey).

Meanwhile I've found a website that lists 100 famous people with Harvey as their first name, ranging from comedian Harvey Corman to psychologist Harvey Karman. I've even learned there is a revered (and blind) sixth century Breton saint by the name of Harvey Herveous Houarniaule.

So I guess I need to take the bad with the good, and make sure I add some good to the reputation of the name if I can.

I would also like to nominate the legendary St. Herve to be the patron saint of all who live in the path of terrifying storms.