Patricia Lakin: Hello. My name is Patricia Lakin.

I have no idea what Lakin means. My father's family, like my mother, came from Russia, but Lakin is hardly a Russian name. And while a simple name, it is not a common one.

So imagine my surprise when I first moved to New York City, and was exploring my new neighborhood, and there high above the stores on East 23rd Street was a huge banner saying "Lakin Furniture." I happened to be with my parents who were visiting me. We went up to the store, met the New York Lakins, but discovered that we were not related. We did become customers, though, and my parents bought me a mattress from these New York Lakins for my brand new apartment.

The mattress was ordinary in every way but one. It had my last name, Lakin, written all over it in perfect, beautiful script. For someone like me, whose dream it was to live in New York City, what better welcome than to find my name flying high above 23rd Street, and written all over my very own mattress.