Kathryn Douglas Everett

Once upon a time, years before my older brother was born, my father had a dream. He dreamt that he was in New York on business, and he stopped in to visit his daughter. She was the Assistant to the Secretary General of the United Nations, and he had to go through several layers of security to get there. When he got to her office, the name plaque on her desk read "Kathryn Douglas Everett." He woke from this dream and announced that they would name their daughter Kathryn.

Actually, though, he announced that they would name their daughter Katherine. At least, that's my mother's version. He reiterated this over the years. When I was finally born and my parents were filling out the name form, he asked her, "You know how to spell it, right?"

"Of course," she replied, having been told this repeatedly. "K-A-T-H-E-R-I-N-E."

"No!" my father answered. "Of course not! It's K-A-T-H-R-Y-N." And so it has been ever since.

Oddly enough, my father now works in Moscow and does business with offices in New York. And it is not inconceivable that I should end up working for the United Nations....