Leah = the weary one. She was the sister of Rachel, the ugly one whom Jacob was tricked into marrying. I always wanted her & Esau to blow that popsicle stand and run away together. I do in fact have a friend named Rachel, she was one of the prettiest girls in school, she did get more guys than me, and she was my first kiss.

I was not named after that Leah, however. I was named for the Roy Orbison song.

My middle name, Shannon, is the river that winds its way through the gorgeous emerald hills of Ireland. I was also not named for that. Nor was I named for Castle Shannon, the lower-middle-class Pittsburgh neighborhood where my mother grew up. Nope, I was named for the Shannon trolley, which my mother took to her job at U.S. Steel.

And Schnelbach is German, obviously, and means swift brook.