Story Archive

A Shot by Any Other Name

When Jack and Lydia Leathers’ son was born, they kept alive the tradition started by Jack’s parents. “My parents decided they wanted to name their son something to make their parents mad,” says Jack, 31. “And, at the time, my dad was drinking Jack, which he enjoyed. My mom said, ‘Why not?’” Thus, Jack’s middle name is Daniels, and throughout his life he has been called Jack Daniels, after the liquor brand. “Nobody believed my name until I showed them my I.D.,” he said. “When I went into the Army, sergeants would yell, ‘How much more American can you get than Jack Daniels?’” So the couple named their son Jim Beam to continue the tradition. “If we have another child, our second born will be Evan Williams, after the bourbon. If it’s a girl, she will be Sherry, like the cooking sherry,” says Lydia, 23. “We get a lot of flack from other people about it,” she added. “At the end of the day, it’s our son, and it’s what we wanted to do.” (MS/Houma Courier) ...Appropriate names, given those products are the cause of many children.