The Name of the Game

There is a Yiddish insult that goes something like, "May a small child be named after you shortly." The reason behind this zinger is that in the Jewish traditon, it is common to name babies after a deceased realitive. My family continued the traditon and named me Roxanne Victoria, Root Vida in Hebrew. Roxanne was for both my parents grandma's, who were funnily enough both named Rose. There was also a Ruth in there somewhere, only I don't remember how we are related. The Victoria comes from Victoria Pine, my paternal grandfather's mother. 
I have been interested in family stories for a very long time, and I remember being a little kid and hereing my dad regail me with the tales of my motley family members-immigrants and embezzlers, lovers and fighters. This led forthwith into a interest in geneaology. I love to learn the names and stories of forgotten people who's lives lead up to me, right now, in the twenty first century. Did they ever imagine their queer, autistic great-great grandaughter would look at the their photos with awe, wondering what their voices sounded like? 
My name is a connection point to my past. It hooks me in to the people who came before me and pulls them close. I may never have met Victoria Pine, but I feel a certain closeness to her because we share a name,