Legally it is Michael Lee Howard. I was named after my uncle. He passed away a couple of years before I was born. From what I have been told he and my father were very close.
My father was one of four boys (like me). Two of them, my uncles Patrick (more on that in a bit) and Gary, were apparently in out of trouble with the law throughout their lives. My father and Michael were the two "good kids". My paternal grandfather passed down this information when I met him at 19.
Finding my grandfather James Levi was all an accident. The first think I learned was my family is riddled with off colored-ness. I was searching for any clue to my past. A picture of my father or mother, a sense of where I came from and what led me to be who I was at the time. I found information to the funeral home saw to my fathers affairs. I called and they remembered:
"Oh I remember that one. It was a rough time. The wife was a mess. They had a baby. Just a little one. I also remember the father having to be escorted by Walla Walla State Penitentiary guards. It was a pretty odd funeral."
"excuse me did you say escorted by guards?"
"Yes the father was serving time"
That ladies and gentlemen is how I found my paternal family. After doing some tracking down I found out that my grandfather was released from prison a couple years before my search started and was living just a few miles from me. In a matter of a hours I showed up at his door and learned a whole history of my paternal family roots.
Fast forward an unmentioned amount of years and through a series of events I was telephonically re connected to my birth mom. It was a short period of time but happened nonetheless. I was not ready to talk with her so communication came through my newly found sister.
One day she texted me to say "mom wanted me to tell you that you are named after your uncle"
of course my reply was " I know Michael was my uncles name"
"she said it was your middle name Patrick"
That was when I learned that my given name was supposed to be Michael Lee Patrick Howard. Even writing that looks odd. Who has two middle names. Well apparently it never made it on paper but this guy does.
Maybe the Patrick will be used for a pseudonym or something of that sort.
On top of this my first 15 or so years in the world I started school under my stepdads last name of Wilson. So for years I thought my name was Michael Lee Wilson. After some issues with my Social security number I found out my name was never changed and no one ever told me.
The last name I have has been through social media after my marriage to my husband Jacob. I never made it legal because I am lazy and so to this day my legal name is Michael Lee Howard.
But you can call me Michael Lee Patrick Wilson Howard-Mayhew....
Nah just call me Michael. It is way easier.
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