Richard Ethan Simeonoff Jr was my birth name, my current name is Richard Ethan Ingram. growing up you dont really think about your name, it is what it is. I never even thought about it. I knew it was a russian name, given to my father. I have always taken pride in the Simeonoff Name. I guess the first I was really aware of it is when my uncle freddy Simeonoff came to our house in Canyon Country California on his way to serve a tour in vietnam. Several months later he was dead in a helicopter crash on some river. this was the first time I had the notion of death and my own mortality. I cried for myself and my uncle. he had left an army jacket with simeonoff name tag on it. my name right. think he did after that. . I remember always having to tell people how to pronounce it. SIM E ON OFF simple right. NO it still would come out SIME in ov or seminininoff or the dreaded smirininoff, well I did drink lots of vodka over the years, mostly when I could not afford some jack daniels or crown royal, ha. I had one teacher in hight school, no matter how many times I told him how to say it, he woudl always buther it. his name was mister Decoster. One day he repeated the wrong pronouciation, so I pronounced his name as mister Decoaster, he did not appreciate that, but quickly responded with, well you dont say my name right. he was a good teacher, one time he gave me the answer to one of the questions he was going to ask in class, before class. so I got the answer right. kinda nice of him This day and age, I can see why people say it wrong, too many syllables. this day and age of OMG and LOL we just dont want the workload :) really I am lazy saying it out, espessially when someone ask me to say it then, right after pronounce it wrong, like they are learnig a new language. people do not listen. so after my year of hell in California 1986, I actually changed my name in seatlly to Richard Obrien. yeah it was so easy, no court order nothing, I was like this is too easy. but it never stuck, a legal name change must go through the courts. these days when you search my simeonoff name, my son richard comes up. he is a talented singer, I do belive he would be well to change his name also. I mean the name is made up. it is a two generation name. the name before that was seminov.
I think I become interested in the search for my identidy after drinking and learning to become a whole person, well as whole as a one-eyed man can be :) lol
