EAR, my name is Mariel.  I'll tell you how I got "Rowina" as my webname.

Years ago my son bought me my first Mac computer.  He told me I needed
a pseudonym to go on the web.  I chose "Rowena" for two reasons:  I had
a high school friend I admired who was Rowena; and I liked the "romance"
of "Ivanhoe" with its stars Rowena and Rebecca.  But when I applied for
my Earthlink account, there was already a "Rowena" on board, so I changed
the spelling to "Rowina".  Just as simple as that.

But over the years, the name Rowina came to mean more to me.  I learned
more about my ancestry in England and Scotland, and it became apparent
that the very people who produced Sir Walter Scott's Rowena were my
people as well.  And Sir Walter's eulogy of the learned Jewess Rebecca came
to mean more to me, as I came to understand more about the history of the Jews
in England and Scotland.  Sir Walter's historical novel is sort of corny, but it
is based on real history.

When I signed on to Doves, I used "Mariel" as my name, my real name, but
apparently my webname became afixed to my posts, which is fine.  And so I
became Mariel Rowina.

I used to dislike my unusual name "Mariel" because it gave me identity problems
as a child;  I met only one other "Mariel" in the years from birth to college, and
teachers and children rarely called me by my "real name".  I was Mary, Marie,
Muriel, Marilyn, and my Irish grandmother called me "Mamie" as she did any
female in the family whose name began with "M".  I wanted to have a name which
people said correctly.  When I grew up, it didn't matter so much, and I eventually
got to like "Mariel".  It's nice now to be able to sign a letter "Mariel" and there is NO
doubt who is writing.  It's always me!

But I have also become "Rowina" and I wonder if that is a spiritual name for me.



Thanks, EAR!

Mariel