Before finishing the story of my arrival in San Francisco, I first need to mention that in March of 1956, my older brother and sister (fraternal twins) were born. D & G were both full-term and 5+ pounds -- no mean feat for our 5' tall mother! Our parents agreed that my brother would be named after our father, and my mother chose the name of a then-famous TV personality for my sister.
If you stop and do the math, you'll see that my arrival in April of 1957 was just 13 months after the twins were born. Again, our father's job kept him away at sea, so my mother was probably alone for much of the time she was pregnant with me. And the poor thing must have thought she was having a second set of twins (this was long before ultrasound, remember), because she grew to an enormous size with me.
How do I know that?
How do I know that?
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| The Official Birth Announcement |
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| Check out those chubby cheeks! |
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| 10 POUNDS, 15 OUNCES !!!!! |
My mother nicknamed me "Pinky," because I was so rosy-hued. She also told me that she and a neighbor had a good laugh at my expense, when the neighbor's newborn and I were laid on a bed side-by-side and I was nearly twice the size of the other baby.
(I've been known to use my birth weight, even now, as an excuse for being fat. Is that really so unreasonable? LOL)
I don't know who chose my names. However, "Sharon" was the 14th most-popular girl's name that year (source), as I would discover when I got to high school and found several other Sharons there. But the origin of "Kay"? That's a mystery that will have to remain unsolved.
