What's In A Name?

It's pretty amazing how some companies want to tell you exactly what your surname means and where it comes from.  I laugh very frequently when I read all the many different responses I get regarding my maiden name - Nocks.    While growing up, I never thought to question my father about his knowledge of his surname.  He frequently told me that his mother's maiden name was Lancaster, and that her family could be traced back to the Lancaster family from the War of the Roses in England.  (DNA testing has shown that's not true, recently.)  But he was never very vocal about the name Nocks.  There was some speculation that it was an Americanized version of the Scots Knox, or that it was a garbled version of the German Nachts.  But there was no surety.
   I've been told by various "surname research" companies that the name is from the Scots, is  from the German, is from Dutch, French and Danish. And that it's changed with time....
   In doing my genealogy research, I've been able to trace my father's family name, from father to father to father, back to the man who arrived from England.  His name was Thomas Nock.  His church records state that he was born on 12 November 1617 in England; that he had a residence and family in Dover, New Hampshire by 1652; and that he died in Dover in late October of 1666.  Several researchers say that Thomas Nock was from Shropshire;  I have been unable to verify this. After three or four generations in North America, the family name had an "s" added to the end.  Parts of the family stayed Nock, and parts were Nocks.  Then there was a large influx of Scots settlers into the northeastern colonies, and, suddenly, because of the learned scrivners, Nock and Nocks had Knox added to the spellings.  In looking at Dad's lineage, we start with a Nock, which becomes Nocks, then switches to Knox for two generations, then switches back to Nocks....   It can make you crazy...
   And what does Nock or Nocks mean?  In doing my own research on Old English and Anglo-Saxon names, I have two distinct possibilities.  Since the original spelling of "nock" was just that,  I, personally, believe that the name was from the Anglo-Saxon - a nock was a small rounded hill, and having that surname meant that you lived beside a small rounded hill.  The other meaning, which has been thrown at me with great intensity (to the point that I resent it) is that Nock is a corruption of "Noke" or "Nokes."  Noke and Nokes is derived from Old English, and means "near the oaks" or "near oak trees."  -  And that is a quite plausible take on my surname...  but I just don't like it; which is silly.  
   The meaning of Nock, or Nocks, is actually unimportant.  What matters is that I know that Thomas Nock was born somewhere in England in late 1617.  Now I just need to find out where, in all of England, that was - and I mean something that is without question - not a "he might have been the third son of so-and-so, but we don't have his Christian name..."
   

September First - Aspens Are Turning - Soon We'll Look Like This

Castle Peak

Richmond Mountain

Idaho Springs

Mount Sneffels

Bear Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park

Dallas Divide

Mount Sneffels sunrise

More Gallery of the Absurd Photos

Really?

She did NOT want the stork to visit...

Ram rider

Is she paid more because she can do this?

Greeting from our new line of jackets.

It does seem a bit overly friendly...

What is he supposed to be?  A crab?  A lobster?  A demonic imp?

My Political Stance

Donald Trump frightens me.  I do not want him to be the President of the United States of America.  For as long as I can remember, his name has always been joined with over-blown drama, bigotry, bankruptcies, divorces, company buy-outs followed by collapses, and a type of blow-hard blasphemy that is amazing.  He has never impressed me on any level.  He openly admits that he uses tax and bankruptcy laws to escape debt and start anew.  He has been married multiple times to women who are not American born or bred.  He has quite a few children, and seems to be disgustingly sexually attracted to his own daughters.  He makes outrageous inaccurate statements and laughs them off.  Trump denigrates anyone who is not Caucasian male of European descent.  He treats women and racial minorities as people to be kicked in the teeth when they agree with him; and if those people do not agree with his statements, then he calls them names with a lot of profanity thrown in.
   This man seems to be a small-minded simple bigot, who should never have been allowed media coverage - for anything.  He sees himself as Mister America or Uncle Sam.  As a white female, I see him as Simon Legree.  If I had my way, I'd never hear his name, nor see him or hear him, ever again.  This man is making America the laughing stock of the world.  His Grand Old Party leaders need to put a barbed choke-chain collar around his neck and make him behave in a sensible manner.  But - I forgot - he is the Donald Trump, and feels he is above all laws of this earth.
   Heaven help us if he is elected.

Bay and Island Photos

Ramshorn Bay, Eastern Shore of Virginia

Brown pelicans

Oysters

Weather gnarled tree on Assateague

Assateague (MD) ponies

Ponies on the beach at Assateague (MD)

                           

Dewey, a Maryland stallion

Books, Glorious Books!

While on vacation, I began to re-read The Liveship Trilogy  by Robin Hobb.  I've been reading them slowly and absorbing a lot more nuances than I did on the first reading, and I've got about 15 pages left of Ship of Destiny.  I do have the first book of the next connected series ready to read - Dragon Keeper, which is the first book of four in The Rain Wilds Chronicles.  I can't wait to get pulled deep into this world created by Robin Hobb, aka Megan Lindholm, again...  But first, I am going to take a short break, and read the last two C.J. Cherryh Foreigner series books - both Tracker and the new Visitor - they are calling me like the wi'itikin on the cliffs.   I'm also keeping my eyes open for other new books by favorite authors...  In a way, I'm looking forward to ice and snow storms, so I can stay at home and read in warmth and comfort, with a cat on my lap, and one on the back of the chair...
   The "bundle" of services we get - telephone, computer and cable television - are paid monthly, by the bank, electronically.  Our charge suddenly increased by $24+ this month, so Beatrice went to the office, as she pays the "utility" bills.  They informed her she was behind in her payments, and, even though she disagreed with them, finally paid for two months of service then and there.  I showed her the paid receipt for that month, and for the previous month.  She went back to the office again, fit to be tied.  They refused to give her a refund - just told her she wouldn't have to pay in September...  So our finances are a little tight with three days left of the month.  We have plenty of cat food, kitty treats and kitty litter.  There is plenty of soda, juice and Gatorade in stock.  We have fruits and veggies, soup, and all sorts of canned and frozen foods and meals.  But we don't have any free cash - and we're (now) used to being to buy what we feel like eating on the spur of the moment...  Let's order a pizza...  I don't feel like cooking, let's go to Turley's, or Five Guys, or Glacier, or The Cork, or the Outback Grill....  It's seems extremely silly to be suddenly aware that we don't have any "throw away" money at the end of this month.  Of course, we'll have plenty next month...  But it's funny how that nibbles at your subconscious....

Gallery of the Absurd Photos

Batman existed long before anyone knew of him...

A 1940s Japanese space alien model

An early 1950s idea of a modern kitchen

Is this a way to sell patriotism?

Somehow, this sock advertisement just isn't right...