Why “From A to Zowie”?

My assistant publisher where I work suggested a name change for my column. The old name, “Richard’s Ramblings”, is too similar to the name of another column there, he said.

Besides, it wasn’t exactly original. (Neither was the column’s original name, “My Two Cents”, either). There are a number of Google hits on “Richard’s Ramblings”, so I decided that if I change the name, it has to be to something completely original.

After tossing around a few names, I thought of “From A to Zowie”. It received the blessing of my executive editor and wife, Jennifer, and the people at the paper thought it was great also.

So, let me list the two reasons I chose From A to Zowie:

1. I write my column about many issues: politics, sports, current events, social issues, satire and the unusual. From A to Zowie captures that beautifully.

2. We’ve heard the phrase “From A to Z”. I think the column title is a nice pun of that, don’t you?