Ramona by The Ramones

Ramones laces in my roller skates

I was named after this song so it obviously has always been special to me. My father and his father are both Edwards and it was assumed that as the first grandchild, I’d be a boy and therefore another Edward. My mother tells me that as the end of her pregnancy approached, she had a sudden thought one day: What if it’s a girl?! Apparently Edwina was a possible choice but fortunately my parents were into the 70’s rock & roll scene and had recently purchased The Ramone’s Rocket To Russia on vinyl. It just so happens to include a song called Ramona and so here I am!

I've always liked having a unique name. I have a last name that people often have trouble spelling and pronouncing so I've been able to go by my just first name a lot in my life and I've enjoyed that. Once when I was a child, I wandered away from my mom in a store and as she was calling out "Ramona, where are you?" an adult voice answered from a few aisles away "I'm over here!" What a surprise that was to me because I'd never encountered anyone else with my name (besides Ramona Quimby of course)! I've come across a few other Ramonas in my life, most often on the telephone or more commonly I meet someone who has a relative with the name. Most of the time those women go by Mona but I've never had any desire to shorten my name or go by a nickname. I do have a couple of friends who have decided on their own to call me a nickname and in those cases I like it because it's something special I share only with those people I'm close to.

I absolutely love listening to this song. It will always cheer me up and give me confidence because whenever I hear it I think Oh yeah, I forgot this awesome thing about me! I also love telling people I was named after The Ramones. I think it's pretty bad ass!