joe bill

if you haven't met my dad before, it's really too bad for you, because he is a stinking hoot. one of my favorite stories for him to tell is where my name came from, and to this day nobody but him knows if it's actually true or if he made it up.

i was born at 12:45 AM on july 2. my parents didn't have a name picked out for me yet, and all my mom knows is that my dad walked into her hospital room a couple of hours after i was born and said "what about meghan murray?" murray is my grandmother's maiden name, but where he would have come up with meghan, she has no idea. however, here is the story you'll hear from good ol joe bill should you get to hear him tell it. he'll talk about how he was standing at the window of the nursery at the hospital looking at me when a tiny little cleaning lady walked by and started talking to him. she asked which little one belonged to him, and she replied "oh, she's so pretty, name her meghan!" when he pointed at me. then she started asking him about family names to peg down the middle name. "what's your wife's name? what's her maiden name? what's your wife's mother's name? and her maiden name?" the last question was what she was looking for. when he said "murray" the precious little cleaning lady replied "that's it, meghan murray. name her that."

whether it's real or made up, it's quite an entertaining story. he's a funny guy, and he passed on a good dose of his sense of humor to me. i also inherited the ability to belt out a monstrous burp, something which my mom is less than pleased with. joe bill can tell stories til the cows come home, but one thing i've never had to wonder about was whether he loved me or not. he is very self sacrificing, and should i marry that is a quality that i hope i see in my husband.

i love you daddy, happy father's day!!

-meghan