His dad, Bill Lloyd, and his Aunt Kelly were there in the delivery room at Hahnemann Hospital to help bring him into the world this afternoon at 12:11pm.
Accepting the idea of such an unusual name was a bit of a challenge at first. As my own dad quizzically but lovingly and comically said to me today after informing him of the name: 'Gimme something that I can work with, Matty'.
But as I sat in the waiting room at the hospital, the name wasn't the least bit important to me. I just wanted a healthy baby with all its parts where they belonged, and for my daughter to come through safely.
All went well, and I was beaming when Bill came out and told me 'It's a boy!' They had intentionally not learned the sex beforehand, so we were all truly getting a surprise there.
'The Rez' as I have already taken to calling him, or 'Rez' for even shorter, was named after his mom and dad's favorite rock star, Trent Reznor. Having your grandson named after a rock star can get you doing a little research. I have heard of the guy, but I have absolutely zero clue about him or his music.
At 43-years old, Trent Reznor is almost as old as me. He was born and raised in western Pennsylvania in a town called Mercer, which falls halfway between Erie and Pittsburgh. He was a synthesizer-band guy in the 1980's, and then in the 1990's began to produce music on his own, which led to his forming the industrial/alternative rock band Nine Inch Nails.
In 1997, Trent Reznor was described by SPIN magazine as 'the most vital artist in music', and was named by Time magazine as one of that year's most influential people.
Having began playing piano at the age of five, Trent Reznor quickly came to be considered a musical prodigy. One of his earliest musical inspirations was David Bowie, and he was able to later tour with Bowie after NIN gained popular and critical success.
Starting with his earliest recordings, Reznor frequently played all of the instruments, a habit that he continued throughout his career. Nine Inch Nails literally is all Trent Reznor in its studio work, though he does put together band members for touring purposes.
The band is a Grammy Award winner, and Reznor has also worked as a producer and supporting performer for many alternative rock contemporary acts such as Marilyn Manson, Tori Amos, and Saul Williams. He has been hailed as one of the best producers working in rock music today.
Hey, I am a baseball guy, not an alt-rock guy, so naming the grandson 'Michael Jack' after Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt would have been more my taste. And hey, Matthew does mean 'Gift of God'. Even 'William' after his father would have made sense. But my daughter, Christine Veasey, and her fiancee' are the parents of the boy, and the name was their choice to make.
I am simply happy that he has ten fingers and ten toes, is healthy, and literally is one of the most beautiful babies that I have ever laid my eyes upon (his mom, aunt, and sister were pretty cute too, after all.)
So welcome 'The Rez' to the world, and say a prayer along with me for him and his parents: that they might all be happy and healthy in their lives for a long time, find some measure of prosperity in this world, and open their hearts and lives to let God have a place with their family.
Oh, and here's to many chances to spend fun family time with his and sister Elysia Bellina's 'pop'. That would be me. I love ya, Rez.
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