some musings from my friend, Joe.

 I am hopeful you will publish this note on your blog, with fair attribution to me since it   is one of my fondist wishes for the coming year.  It is to see our fair city go from being officially known as “Louisville” to “Kentucky.”  “Louisville” is such a burden to pronounce and even write out.  Much is lost with respect to the name.  Kentucky, Kentucky, on the other hand has such a ring to it.  Like New York, New York or Oklahoma City, Oklahoma-- Kentucky-- Kentucky says it all. Hardly anyone I know can name another city in New York or Oklahoma besides those two major cities.  Make it easy for everyone—Kentucky, Kentucky. 

            We shouldn’t be beholden to any dead French king whose name is followed by Roman numerals none of us can determine.  I’m disappointed that Mitch, Rand and Jerry did nothing but let “Louisville” remain on the books, root, branch and all. 

            There’s panache in telling someone from a distant place that you live in Kentucky, Kentucky rather than in Louisville, Kentucky.  When you say Louisville what usually follows is the all to familiar question, “Where is Louisville in the state of Kentucky?”  Forget trying to explain to anyone we are not a “state” but a “commonwealth.”  Kentucky, Kentucky eliminates all that explaining and people can get on with the important parts of a conversation.

            Once we are known far and wide to everyone as Kentucky, Kentucky, we won’t have to suffer confusion with places like Mississippi or Colorado to name just a few states that have cities named Louisville.  How often are we asked when we say we are from Louisville, “Is that Louisville, Mississippi or Louisville, Colorado?”  I can’t count the times.  Plus, we can unload the name on some other town.  Maybe Lebanon Junction will opt to be “New Louisville” or Baghdad, or evenWaddy-Peytonia will want to adopt the name Louisville.  Better yet, the name Louisville is more akin to the area eighty or so miles southeast of here.  Perhaps Fayette County or some town like Paris, Kentucky or Versailles, Kentucky, will be enticed by the name Louisville.   Look what “Oklahoma” and “New York, New York, It’s a Wonderful Town” have done for those places. Our future possibilities are endless!  Let’s get those petitions circulating, folks.

                                                                                    Joe Golden of Prospect for now but in the                                                                                     future, I counting on it being known as                                                                                             Upper East, Kentucky, Kentucky