Six Degrees of Separation

Who would have thought this guy would become a household name around here?


Let me start off with Cash, the first child. So named because this movie came when I was pregnant:




















Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash movie - played by Joaquin Phoenix. Liked the movie, liked the name.

Then along come the twins. Ashton and Phoenix - named for no reason other than we like the names. We were really trying to match the genre we'd started - it can be a little tricky to follow a name like Cash. You can't just go with Joe or something after you start like that. I had mentioned the names we were thinking of to a friend and was saying my hesitation that I felt they needed to blend with Cash's name - to which she said, of course they do - Joaquin Phoenix played Johnny Cash in the movie Walk the Line. Oh, right, I guess. I hadn't thought of that.

And now, over the past few weeks of learning to walk, I find myself frequently using the phrase, "Good Joaquin Phoenix!" I mean, "Good walking, Phoenix!" on a daily basis. And then feeling a little weird that I'm always saying that guy's name. And I know we've got people really confused because sometimes people call him "River" instead of Phoenix - which takes this to a whole new level of separation because then we're getting from Cash, named after Johnny Cash, to Joaquin Phoenix, who played Johnny Cash, to River Phoenix, the brother of Joaquin Phoenix who played Johnny Cash in the movie our first son is named after....

Phew.

I wonder how I can keep extrapolating this to come up with a girl's name 5 years in the future. Or if I can find some hidden connection between Ashton Kutcher and Joaquin or River Phoenix. Then this could really get intricate.