Names pop out at me

Want to read something fascinating and scary at the same time? See how Eleanor Bell gave birth to Clarissa.

Here is a preview.

My doula wore a T-shirt of mine with one of my favorite TV characters on it - Xena: The Warrior Princess. This shirt was supposed to be a focal point for me during labor but I was in such a state of detached pain that I completely forgot about it. The removable tattoos we purchased earlier at the mall also went untouched. We put them on later in the post-partum room in celebration of our endeavors.

The next two hours that it took me to deliver my baby proceeded rapidly. I was assigned to a wonderful young male nurse whom I will remember forever as the most gracious, sympathetic person in that hospital. Monitor belts were strapped around my waist and I was allowed to labor in a chair with my knees in the seat, facing the back of it; a much better position to be in than flat on my back in bed! I began to lose myself with each contraction, yet felt very soothed by my choices of music playing between contractions which included everything from Mozart to Guns N'Roses! My body seemed to secrete natural endorphins to deal with my pain. I never even thought about asking for medication. [Link]

Unless you're squeamish, I recommend you read the full text. Great stuff!

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Explanation: I found this story by Googling the name "Clarissa May Bell." I make up names in my head all the time, and I'm always amazed that they actually belong to a real-life human beings. For example, back in 2002, I invented the name "Amanda Duquesne" out of thin air and decided I would appear online as her, on MSN Messenger (in the days before the paedophilia issue forced MSN to shut down its public chat rooms in the UK). I eventually revealed to the people I was chatting to that I had made it all up, but Amanda Duquesne was so nice that not a single person bore a grudge. And, yes, if you Google it, you'll actually find a real person called Amanda Duquesne. The name has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

Clarissa May Bell is another one of those names that just pops out at me, as does the name Angelina Bell. I have been trying for a long time to write a story about a character called Angie Bell, who is actually Malaysian. I'm not sure how a Malaysian woman can be named "Angie Bell", but there you have it.