Alternate Universe

I experienced a Twilight Zone moment today. I took his Royal Highness to the zoo as a reward for not making me want a quick and painless death grocery shopping today. Vaughn wanted to sit to have a snack so we decided to sit at one of the few tables that was in the sun right next to another woman and her son. As we were sitting down, I heard this woman call to her son, and I could have sworn she said "Vaughn." I figured my ears were tricking me, could have been "Ron" after all. I mean, what are the odds?

As we're sitting there, another woman comes up, who obviously was with them. They are chit-chatting asking the little boy what he was going to call this woman. The little boy said what sounded like "Auntie Mimi." Huh?

Then the mother said, "No, you already call A--- Auntie Mimi. This is Amy; what are you going to call her?"

Now, once again, I figured I misheard. Vaughn calls his Aunt Mary, "Auntie Mimi." He came up with it when he just started talking, all on his own mind you. I figured maybe it was just Auntie Amy they were saying and the other woman he calls Auntie Amy, and so, obviously, he must come up with another name for this Amy.

As they're leaving, the little boy is doddling behind, and she calls to him, unmistakably calling him "Vaughn."

What exactly are the odds? Here's this little table. It's an extremely unbusy day at the zoo due to freezing cold, and we just happen to sit beside the one little boy that has an extremely rare name, the same name as my son, and this little boy happens to call his aunt," Auntie Mimi." Bizarre.

Now, Vaughn was the older of the two, so I named him Vaughn FIRST-- nah-nah-nah-nah-nah. I immediately get on the phone with my husband, bemoaning the fact that we went to all this effort to find a unique name that has NEVER been popular, and now I see it popping up everywhere. Well, almost everywhere. Last week it was a character's name on "Cold Case," a YOUNG character.

So, in a panic, I get home and search the Social Security records of names and what do I find? Hmmm? Hmmmm? Vaughn's name has been steadily gaining in popularity since when you ask? Since 2002. How ironic. The year he was born. It's made a huge leap in popularity from just barely making the top 1000 since 1999 to jumping up to 787 in 2004. Now, as my husband says, we're still safe from it being a David name, but how safe and for how long? THAT is the question.
On a different note, are construction signs becoming politically correct now? They now say "No Entry." What? "Keep Out" was too authoritative and offended people who wanted to be able to be flattened by a steamroller or drive their car off a half-built bridge? Ah, the delicateness of the American self-esteem.