How come it’s spelled “Gericke” but pronounced “Yerkey?” Were you dropped on your head at birth?
A. Yes, but that’s not the reason. When the seven Guericke brothers (note the additional U, which provided the “yer” sound in the pronunciation) emigrated from Germany in the 1800s, an Ellis Island bureaucrat chopped out the U to make the name “more American.” Hah! It just gave all of us Gerickes a headache trying to explain. Q. What about Shane? Where’d that come from? A. I was named after the Alan Ladd cowboy movie of the same name. The little blond kid running after Alan yelling, “Shane! Come back Shane!” Remember that? My folks liked the name, and most important, it didn’t remind them of anyone they hated. Thus I became Shane. It’s a great name for a writer, Shane Gericke: the name is blessedly gender-less, so readers assume whatever they like. The author behind the name is, in contrast, All Guy All the Time, with a steely gaze and manly chin. Or so he likes to tell himself. Q. So, Shane, you got hooked on writing at age 7? A. Yep, and you can credit Mrs. Feely for that. (Or blame,
