The importance of names. And nostalgia.

Names are important, be they the special names used only by members of the family, the names that we assign to certain favourite dishes, or the names given to places. How about this?

“The Gulf of Mexico has been named since the 16th century, when Spanish explorers began to map the region following the arrival of Hernán Cortes in 1519. The term arises because this vast expanse of water was located east of the lands we know today as Mexico, which were then dominated by the Mexican Empire.

Since when is it called the "Gulf of Mexico"?

XVI Century: The name "Gulf of Mexico" appears on maps and historical documents since the first Spanish explorations. European cartographers began to use it to designate this semi-finished basin, because of its proximity to the Mexican territory.

Although there was no Mexico as a country (independent since 1821), the name referred to the Mesoamerican region under Spanish control and linked to the Mexican empire.

It was named before the existence of the United States

The name "Gulf of Mexico" was established long before the formation of the United States in 1776.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the area that today includes the states of Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida was part of Spanish and French colonial territories, and had no relation with the future country.

This reinforces that the Gulf of Mexico, both as a geographical region and nomenclature, has historical roots that precede the creation of the United States.

Conclusion

The Gulf of Mexico has carried its name for more than 500 years, long before the United States existed as a nation. This term reflects its historical and geographical connection with Mesoamerican lands, being a denomination that persists since the first maps elaborated by European colonizers.”

Also important are our memories and souvenirs. Extreme weather events such as floods and forest fire (does that count as a weather event? I suppose so as weather conditions make forest fire more likely) destroy the physical mementos.

I read today about a project to help restore the family photos lost by flood survivors. In the days after flash floods killed more that 200 people in Valencia last year, volunteers sifted through wreckage for photos belonging to families who had survived the disaster. Modern technology allows them to restore or partially restore many of the photos, giving comfort to some of the survivors.

We might say that it’s only “stuff” and yet so many of us keep some old object, of no real practical use in our busy modern lives, because it reminds us of some person or event in our earlier life. And when you are faced with an emergency and have to flee your home, how do you decide what to take with you?

Finally, here’s a another poem by Michael Rosen:

Shhhh.

Listen to the silence.

The silence from those 

who remind us regularly

 - quite rightly - 

of women in Afghanistan and Iran.

For some reason

they don't remind us 

of dead women in Gaza.

They don't say

that the dead women in Gaza

are unable to get an education.

They don't say

that the dead women in Gaza

are unable to wear what they want.

They don't say

that the dead women in Gaza

are unable to have their hair 

how they want.

It's almost as if

(to coin a phrase)

dead women don't count.

Shhhh.

Listen to the silence.

Life goes on. Stay safe and well, everyone!