This is  Alexander Gordon Jump.  Most people knew him as Gordon.

And I am Alexandra.  Most people call me Alex.  I didn’t like my name at all as a kid and when I asked my mother why I was named such a long fru-fur name, she would only say that she liked the name.

When I tell people my whole name I get a  take a double take or  folks ask me to repeat my last name, as if it is really a last name. Then some people will try out a Jump joke…  my response generally is ” you’ll have to do better than that, I have heard that one before. “  or “yes, Jump, it is a happy little name.”

I was named after Gordon’s father whose name was also Alexander …  and he was my Grandfather’s brother.

My Father William  named me after his favorite Uncle.  And I didn’t get a middle name because my father, and probably rightly so, figured that if I grew up with a middle name and married, I would most likely take a new name and drop the Jump, keeping the middle name and a married name.   And one of the cousins told me that my father always wanted me to keep Jump in my name.

Jump as a last name is … well… different and I remember being a Jump when I was little and I remember some of the teasing.  But I lost the last name, I think between 1st and 2nd grade when my name changed to Perry.

I didn’t know my father.  But I knew about him.   He was  physically out of my life before I old enough to form a solid memory of him, though I do remember hearing his voice once over the phone saying Hello to me.  And I have a strong memory of being told that he was “Daddy Bill” and that I could call my stepfather my ” Daddy”.   I was also told that my “real daddy” did something really bad and that he didn’t want to be my daddy anymore.  And he must not of loved me because he was not there.   At least that is what my little brain thought.  I know better now.  He loved me very much, but was an alcoholic and he lost that battle at the age of 32.    My stepfather died just after my 7th birthday and shortly after,  Daddy Bill died too, and with him the connection to the Jumps.

Until I started searching that is.  I remember seeing WXRP  as a kid and knew that the character Mr. Charlton  was somehow related.  Then I watched him play Old Lonely for Matag, right around the time I first got sick with what turned out to be Lupus.  So I called the Matag Corporate  Office and asked to speak to the advertizing department.  Once connected I asked for the person who handled the account with Gordon, got him on the phone and told him what I knew.   I was related though my deceased father and I was facing a medical issue and needed my father’s family medical history.   Would he please pass this information along to Gordon and would you give him my phone number?

About 4 hours later  there was a phone call the voice on the other end asked ” Is this Alexandra? “.

When I said yes, Gordon then asked me,  ” Do you know how you got your name?”

No,  I don’t..what a strange call I thought,  then before I could say anything else,

he said  to me,  ” You were named after my father Alexander and I am your Dad’s cousin.  I held you as a  baby.”   That blew me away.

I have since met a bunch of the Jumps and learned more about my Dad.   I have been able to shift the lost little girl a bit, and I do this through my writing.

Two years ago I legally took my birth name back.  And I started to put my life back too.  Back as in, back on track to being who I really am.    This blog is part of the journey.   I  hope you come along with me.