Wellington Burks Caldwell had the distinction of having three last names. He often wondered why his parents couldn’t have given him a proper first name like John or Billy or Sam or really anything other than Wellington.
Then again it could have been much worse. His mother loved history especially the Napoleonic Wars. As he grew older he learned that his parents had discussed Wellesley as his first name to remove any doubt that he was being named after Arthur Wellesley, the 1st Duke of Wellington, the victorious General at Waterloo. He often wondered why his parents couldn’t have picked Arthur. It would have been a proper first name. But perhaps it would have denied his mother a chance to discuss her favorite subject.
“What is your son’s name?”
“Wellington.”
“Is that a family name?”
And just like that a perfect opportunity to discuss the Battle of Vitoria had been created. If young Wellington was at the park, the library or even grocery shopping with his mom and someone inquired about his name, he knew a history lesson was about to begin.
Doomed to suffer from a last name as a first name there was still hope that his parents could have picked a sensible middle name. No ...
