Xavier?

I was born with the middle name Xavier in Hannibal Missouri many moons ago. I've mentioned before that I was raised in the Catholic religion as a young man. For that reason I assumed that my middle name was given to me in respect of St. Francis Xavier. The subject never came up amoungst my family members. That's just the way I thought it was.

It seems I've spent my entire life explaining the X. I wish I had a dollar for every time someone asked me about the X.

My dad was not catholic. He went to the Christian church. I suspect that the difference in religion contributed to my parents divorce when I was 12 years old. A few years back my dad and I were traveling to Columbia Missouri for a doctors visit together. And he brought up my middle name. He said,"You know how you got that name don't you". I told him I wasn't sure but that I had always assumed it was a catholic name. He said, "No that's not where it came from". And he went on to explain that his best friend while he was in the Pacific during WWII was named Xavier. And that he had named me in honor of his friend. Talk about a surprise. Even today I think about it and am amazed that I went all that time not knowing. Just glad dad and I had that talk.

Above, myself and my Uncle Sam just being young boys! X.