Names

Even I have wondered where some names come from when writing a novel. For instance, in the first chapter Matt and Janell go to dinner in the North End of Boston to celebrate his admittance to medical school. They go to their favorite Italian restaurant The Blue Parrot. What kind of name is that for an Italian restaurant? Actually, when I attended the University of Colorado in Boulder many years ago there were two Italian restaurants east of town in the boonies in a little farming community named Louisville. My buddies and I used to speed out there periodically to have a few beers and gobble down some Italian at either Colacios (sp?) or the Blue Parrot.  The spelling of Colacios still  doesn’t look right to me so I used the Blue Parrot name instead. Both spots were wonderful. Both are gone now. And Louisville? It’s covered with malls, big box stores and is the epitome of sprawl as a bedroom community for Boulder.