Remember John Cougar? You'd have to be a boomer to remember that name. How about John Mellencamp? Sound more familiar?

I can remember when he first came on the scene... and rugged and sexy, and stuff. Then he got kinda snarky about having to change his name. The record company execs thought the public wouldn't accept a rocker with a last name like Mellencamp. But he seemed to be running the charts so the gradual name change began.

John Cougar
John Cougar-Mellencamp
John Mellencamp

I've been feeling a little snarky about my name. I know this might be hard to believe, but it's not really Opalstorm. I took that nomenclature because I felt it was necessary to protect my privacy, or so I told my peeps. I really thought it would be a innocuous blog name, like Cougar.

I used that name because of this harrowing tale. (http://ifmomsaysok.wordpress.com/2008/05/31/waiting-for-cristobal/) It's a combination of Hurricane Opal, which holds a near and dear place in my heart, opals which are October's birthstones and ergo my own, and just because I thought it sounded cool.

Many of you know that my actual name is Tara (besides you can read it for yourself at the top of each of my blog posts). While on paper it's all the same, if you want to enjoy the full ambiance of this classic Celtic name, pronounce it TARa not TERa.

If you are a true Gone With the Wind fan you would know the late great Margaret Mitchell meant for the movie moguls to use the correct Irish pronunciation of Scarlett's plantation home ~ TARa.

I can't, apparently change my user name here at the Buzz, but I can do the next best thing. I will be retiring my Vargas-fly girl in favor of the most revered film fatale - Scarlett O'Hara, Vivian Leigh.

(I'm also going to straighten my head up, all the blood is rushing to my ears).