On Names

by Colin P. Delaney on July 25, 2012 at 12:00 am

Happy Wednesday, Dear Reader—I hope that you’re not buckling under the heat like your humble correspondent.

So—here we are at the start of Chapter Five “…Enemies Closer,” the naming of which I hope will soon become apparent as this particular chapter progresses. We do hope you’re enjoying the story so far.

I’ve had a few emails from Dear Readers asking about the names of the particular demonic twosome (Billy Sunday and Reverend Bone) recently introduced and imagined with such élan by Tony.

Bill Sunday comes from, well, Billy Sunday—a former ball-player turned big-tent preacher who once said:

“I am the sworn, eternal and uncompromising enemy of the Liquor Traffic. I have been, and will go on, fighting that damnable, dirty, rotten business with all the power at my command.”

The dude also did not care for dancing or evolution. Must have been a riot at parties.

Now, before you think I have particular interest in big-tent preachers, I don’t, but I do really love Judy Garland’s 1961 Live from Carnegie Hall concert album, where she sings, as an encore, the song “Chicago (That Toddling’ Town)”, a boozy anthem about that (to borrow from Sandburg) “City of the Big Shoulders.” There’s a lyric in the song that goes: “…Chicago, Chicago, The town that Billy Sunday could not shut down!”

I always though “Billy Sunday” would be a great for a villain. Fast-forward a few years, and there you go. As for Reverend Bone, with the real Bill Sunday being a preacher, it just seemed natural to make his partner a reverend.

As for the Bone part, I was reading a lot of Jeff Smith at the time (thanks to @blackcrowe1027), so that explains that.

‘Til Friday, Dear Reader!

~cpd