Wednesday, October 9, 2002

Yah Mo' Be There
Here's a story from the Associated Press that was kinda interesting . . .

LAKE CITY, Fla. — A man who wanted to change his name to God chose a new name when a judge turned down his request. The former Charles Haffey's new name is I Am who I Am.

The former Haffey said after his first choice was rejected in April, he went to the Bible to find a backup. He drew on a passage where Moses asks God who he is and hears: ``I am who I am or I will be who I will be.'' ``That's kind of wordy, so I'm just going for 'I Am Who I Am' as my full legal name,'' he said. ``My first name, of course, would be 'I Am.'''

The 55-year-old said he sought the name change as a way to gain release from feelings of anxiety and rage that have plagued him since he served in Vietnam. ``I was fatally wounded in the mind and the spirit,'' he said. ``I didn't suffer any bodily injury. It's just what I saw, what I did. I killed myself.'' Who I Am said he became a Christian and was baptized in April. It was shortly after that when he decided to change everything, beginning with his name.

Last week, he bought a tombstone to be inscribed with his former name. He plans to plant it in the tall grass on his property. He said it will read, ``'Charles Walter Haffey, born Sept. 23, 1948, and died Oct. 21, 1968, Republic of Vietnam.'''

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