By Any Other Name...

Of late, I have been giving a lot of thought to names. A name says a lot about a person. Some cultures believe that knowing a persons true name could give you power over them. I was named after my mother's paternal grandfather and her father's middle name became my middle name. Dad's family used to spell my surname Dekkar, but it was changed to Decker by my Dad's grandfather to Americanize it somewhat. I have decided to do an analysis of my name to see if it will yield any insights into my true self...

John (Hebrew): 1. God is gracious. 2. God's gracious gift. 3. Merciful.

Michael (Hebrew): 1.Who is like God.

Decker (German/Belgian): 1. One who covered roofs with tile, straw or slate; a roofer. 2. One who came from Deck or Decker, the names of places in Germany. 3. Man of Prayer.

Translated, you could say that my name is: God's Gracious Gift who is Like God and Fixes Roofs, but I find that rather unwieldy. The translation I prefer is: Merciful God-Like Man of Prayer. Now that is a name a man can be proud of.

Here are some other names that I will forever be connected to...

Salvatore (Italian): Savior. I chose this to be my Catholic Confirmation name, in part to honor my Great Uncle Sal.

Giovanni (Italian): This is my mother's maiden name and it is also the Italian form of John.

Perhaps even more telling than a man's true name is his nick names. What follows is a list of the nick names I've had in my life so far, as well as their origins. Read these and you will know everything you need to know about me...

Johnny: Family nick name. Derivation of John.

Deck: High School nick name. Derivation of Decker.

J.D.: High School nick name. Derivation of John Decker.

J.J., John John: Nick names first given to me by my mother, and later given to me by my friend Chris Prueitt when we worked together at the Sterling Renaissance Festival.

Johnny D.: Nick name given to me by the Groundling Support Troupe I co-directed when I worked at the Sterling Renaissance Festival. Yet another derivation of John Decker.

Cake, Cakie: Family nick name given to me on my first Birthday after stuffing my feed-hole with Birthday Cake.

Mudfoot: Nick name given to me in High School by my friend Eddy Bennett after we decided to give each other "cool soundling Road Warrior names." I named him Seven Horse Killer.

Batman: Nick name given to me in High School after I painted bat symbols on the hood and trunk of my 1976 Dodge Monico.

Fafhrd: This high school nick name was given to me by my friend Rick Backus. He called me Fafhrd and I called him the Gray Mouser based on the sword and sorcery adventurers from the Fritz Leiber novels.

Mars: Nick name given to me by Jonathan Furst, my first college director, because he though that I was so "out there."

Tie Dye Owl, T.D.O.: Nick names given to me by my friend Jeff Frank when we worked together at the Hebron Camp and Conference Center. I was the Arts & Crafts director there and I had just constructed a colorful mask made out of cardboard and yarn which hooked over my glasses. I decorated it with bizarre designs using several magic markers. Jeff saw me wearing it in the dining hall and said that I looked like "the Tie Dye Owl." Thus a legend was born.

Jean-Luc: Another nick name given to me by my friend Jeff Frank. So named for famed Starship Captain, Jean-Luc Picard. A tribute to our mutual love of Star Trek.

Starfleet: Nick name given to me at the Sterling Renaissance Festivel by my friend, Michael Reilly. This comes from the nick name Lt. B'Elanna Torres gave to Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager. Denoting what he perceived to be my naive, boy scout, way of looking at the universe.

Decker-Unit: Once again, this nick name was given to me by Michael Reilly. This one comes from the name the android Ilia gives to Captain Willard Decker in Star Trek: The Motion Picture.

Shadowjack: College nick name. I think this one was started by my friend, Drew. Named for the title character of the Roger Zelazny novel, Jack of Shadows.

Ukal The Mysterious, Ukal T. Mysterious, the Mysterious One or just plain Ukal: Nick names given to me by my Dungeons & Dragons group at SUNY Plattsburgh. Named after my Wizard character. "Ukal" by the way, is Thives Cant for "Master."