1. The Name
Today is 39 days from the first anniversary of Dad’s passing. I’ve committed to writing 40 stories about him as that day approaches. So here goes…. Forty Steady Stories
I think the most obvious place to start is with his name:
Steady Cash
As a kid — and even as an adult — I used to love watching people’s faces when they met him. I loved to see the reaction when he stuck out his hand, smiled, and then said, “Hi, I’m Steady Cash.” There were so many priceless moments of surprise and confusion. Over the years Dad (and all the rest of us) heard all the responses…
I’m sorry. What?
C’mon man!
Are you serious?
Hahahahahahahahaha!
What’s your real name?
No, not the company name, we need your name.
And the one that all of us get to this day…
Any relation to Johnny?
But every time Dad would simply smile and confirm that was his name. I particularly loved watching him walk through a hotel lobby with “STEADY CASH” on his name tag. You can imagine the spectrum of reactions of passersby — which he usually never saw in the moment but we saw walking behind him.
I think some people think he picked up that name along the way. I’m sure others probably thought it started as a joke and stuck. But most people don’t know the whole story, so here it is.
My grandfather was named Francis Armistead Cash. He had four brothers and a sister, and everyone had nicknames. Since my grandad had reddish hair, he became known as “Red.” Remember that. When my dad was born, his mom, my grandmother Liz, looked at Red and said, “Well with a name like Armistead there’s only one thing to call him: Steady Cash.” The legend was born, pun intended.
Within the family, as my dad grew and his sister came on the scene, the nicknames evolved even more because of our last name. Red became “Ready.” Steady didn’t need tweaking. His sister became “Petty,” and Liz became “Lotsa.” Yes, that’s right:
Ready, Steady, Petty, and Lotsa Cash.
That’s historical fact. If you don’t believe me, I’ll share this story that my aunt — one of the most clever people I know — told me. She was on a date once and people were talking about names. At some point, a guy says, “That’s nothing. I heard of this family in Virginia and the dad’s name is ‘Ready’, the son’s name is ‘Steady’, and the daughter’s name is…“ she quickly interjected, “And I’m Petty!”
And at this point, you may be wondering how I got my nickname “Chip” since my name is the same as Dad’s and Red’s. It’s from the expression “Chip off the old block.” People ask me sometimes if I wish I’d been named Steady. All I know is two things: (1) I’m just glad I didn’t get stuck with Fran, and (2) The one place my name outranks my dad’s is in the lobby of a Las Vegas hotel. Ever walked through Vegas with “CHIP CASH” on your name tag? Well I have once, and that was enough.
My dad told me once when I was very young that the two most important words to somebody are their first and last names. I have found that to be true. It means something to me when someone calls me by name. It means something to you when people call out your name. Remembering someone’s name has gotten harder as I’ve grown older and busier with my brain feeling like it’s at maximum capacity, but I still work at it. Here’s the thing… It doesn’t matter if you have a really cool name like Steady Cash or if your name is Jane Doe. What matters to someone is that it’s his or her name, which is usually the first part of that person’s story. And knowing a piece of someone’s story is where friendship, grace and understanding start.
