My name is Jared "Jed" Handspicker.  My given name is Jared but, I've
been called "Jed" since I was about 3 years-old.  Family legend has it
that my brother was unable to properly pronounce my name.  All he could
manage was "Je-ed"... So, it stuck.  Only a few people call me Jared,
these days.  All of my family calls me Jed, unless they're being really
serious.  Something I'm not known for, myself.  Anyway, about me?  Well,
I run my own web site:  http://www.jedh.com/ and there is a section
there, devoted to explaining exactly WHO I am.  My e-mail address is
jedh@jedh.com I suppose I also just like seeing my name in print. :-)

I've been known by several names, in my life.... Jed, Jared, Hawk, Bird,
Overbuy, Farmer, Twinkle Toes.. to name a few.  The ONE name that
always seems to stick is JED!

I've been on the receiving end of plenty of teasing, due, mostly to my
LAST name...  as you might well imagine.  My first name has ended up as
Jeddy, Jeddy Beddy-Bye, Jeddy Jumper and a few others.  The Beverly
Hillbillies was the catalyst to many other nicks, like Jethro, or...
Clampett.

The most common anecdotal story I tell about my name is in reference to
all the rhyming names that are often confused as being OUR names.  So
many times, I'll tell someone my name and it gets spoken or written as
any of the following possibilities:  Jay, Judd, Jet, Ned, Ted, Fred...
etc.

On with the story.  There I was, in the midst of Victoria Station in
London, England.  Having traveled there alone, I wasn't exactly
expecting anyone I knew to "be around."  While looking up at the
schedule of stops for my return trip, before heading out to explore the
great city, I heard my name being called out, rather loudly.  A woman's
voice, calling it out, clear as day... "Jed! Jed!" Surprised that anyone
in this place might actually be someone I know, I eagerly looked around
for where this voice was coming from.  I started wandering around,
looking for a woman calling out.  The calling of my name got clearer and
louder, while heading in the direction of the station shops.

Arriving outside the shop that seemed to be the source of the "name
calling" I entered, eagerly.  Looking around, I saw no woman at all.  A
couple of elderly gentlemen, sitting at a table, but... no one calling
my name.  I heard it again.... "Jed! Jed!"  Whereupon, I looked directly
behind the counter at a cage.  In the cage was an African Grey parrot.
A plaque on the cage stated the bird's name was "Jed".  Amused at how
clearly the bird sounded like a woman.... and an attractive one, at
that... I asked the two gentlemen if the shopkeeper or the bird's owner
was around.  They told me the owner would return in a few minutes, if I
didn't mind waiting.  So, I waited... my curiosity getting the best of
me.

About fifteen minutes later, the owner of the shop returned.  She was
drop-dead gorgeous, with that soft English accent that always made me
melt.  As I TRIED to ask her about the parrot, I kept falling over my
own words, until I finally blurted out, "Hello, I'm Jed!"  Her jaw hit
the floor!  She stared at me for a few silent moments... unable to
speak.  I didn't know what to do.  I came out with something like, "Are
you okay?"  She finally regained her composure.   Apparently, the parrot
had been named after her late husband.  She was a young widow, of a man
who died during the Falklands War.  His full name was Jedidiah and she
bought the bird at the suggestion of her mother, to keep her "company"
while she was mourning her late husband.  Her mother had also told her
that she would someday meet another man called "Jed"... (I never asked
if her Mum was a psychic or Tarot card reader!)  Anyway, when I told her
that was my name, I was the first Jed she had met in all the years since
her husband had passed away.   Needless to say, when such an attractive
woman asks a guy like me out, I RARELY say "No."  So, after spending the
day in London, taking in the sights, I returned to the shop, as Wendy
was closing.  We went out for dinner, then to her flat, to have a drink
or two and talk.  She was simply put... CHARMING!  I wondered if her
mother had meant me, when she spoke of another "Jed".. Dang, how I
WISHED that were true.  We actually dated off and on for about six
months.  Eventually, we became more friends than lovers.  There had been
a chemistry, which seemed to fade as time passed.  I still think of
Wendy, often, whenever someone asks me about love at first sight, or,
about destiny/kismet/fate.

I've only heard from her one time, since returning to the States.  It
was a very lovely Christmas card.  Within the card, she wrote some very
kind and loving words.  "I have still not met another Jed.  I have also
not yet met ANY man I could "replace" my OWN Jed with.  I often wonder
if I never gave you the chance I should have."  There were more words,
but, you get the idea.

Anyway, that's my story... call it "A Jed Love Story" if you wish...
it's, for obvious reasons, my favorite one. :-)

jedh                http://www.jedh.com                           jedh@jedh.com

--
"The best and most beautiful things in the world can not be seen or even
touched. They Must be felt with the heart."

     -Helen Keller