himmicanes

So I was reading this article about how the powers that be are retiring the names of certain hurricanes that have been particularly destructive (Katrina, for example). That's right, there will never be another Hurricane Katrina. Or Dennis. Or Rita. But the odd thing is that we name hurricanes at all. Don't we normally just name things that we like, such as puppies or children? I've had several family members die from cancer, and not a single one of them, as far as I know, ever named their tumor. ("Ol' Lumpy, he's gonna be the death of me.")

As far as I can think of, the only time we actually name something we don't like is if we're giving it a particularly derogatory name. But that hasn't been the case with hurricanes - unless, of course, "Katrina" is the hurricane equivalent of naming your kid I.P. Freely. So I'm taking a stand. No longer will I refer to hurricanes with positive, or even neutral, names. From here on out, it's all Hurricane White Trash or Tropical Storm Dry Heave.