Gilby, North Dakota
One of the more intriguing experiences I’ve had on the World Wide Web was discovering there is a town named Gilby.
Its located in North Dakota
Gilby, North Dakota, 58235.
I’ve vowed, to myself, that someday, I will visit this small town.
I figure, my last name is pretty rare, where I grew up, and where I’ve lived. So its probably rare there too.
I know there is a collection of Gilby’s in the Northeast, and somewhere around Oklahoma, but other than that, my extended family is in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Michigan and the greater North Carolina Areas.
Supposedly, it was founded in 1887 (right about the time that my mother’s families (The Giese and Lundborgs) were settling in Michigan)
Its a town of all of 243 people, back in the 2000 Census.
Its a spot on the map on Google Maps.
But, I wonder if there is a store that accepts Visa, and the clerk might see the last name on my Debit Card when I pay for something there.
“Thank you, mister,… Gilby?”
I think it would be fun.
You might have to wear a “Hi, my name is Jeremy Gilby… this is not a coincidence” t-shirt. That town looks small enough that I would be a bit surprised if anyone took credit cards.
Comment by Cisco — March 4, 2007 @ 11:31:28 PM
I’ve got an idea:
I could wear a “This is not a Jeremy Gilby t-shirt”
But then, the citizens of Gilby, North Dakota might start a “Corporate Jeremy Gilby sucks” t-shirt campaign.
Either way, both would be available in the Jeremy-Gilby-dot-com Store
Comment by Jeremy — March 5, 2007 @ 4:22:59 AM
Good luck with them actually looking at the name on the card. I’ve had “Check ID” written on the back of my cards for years now, and I would guess that about 3% or so of merchants actually check.
Oh, and there’s a Maynard, Massachusetts too. No relation, as far as I can tell.
Comment by The Former Roomate Still Known As Matthew Maynard — March 5, 2007 @ 5:07:07 AM
I still use my card at Lowe’s everytime I go in. We are at years now and no one has ever actually looked at my name on the card. Goes to show you the security of our cards at some places.
I grew up in a town about that big. We had places that would take credit, but not debit. Of course, debit was still very new and not common yet. Most people still used this thing called a “check”.
Comment by Chan — March 5, 2007 @ 8:39:26 AM
Wouldn’t it be ironic if The-Evil-Doctor Merlin-Channing-Lowe-Jr. used his card at Home Depot, and got a reaction:
“Oh, Mr. Lowe…”
Comment by Jeremy — March 5, 2007 @ 10:26:32 AM
It could be good advertising for them. I should get a discount for that.
Comment by Chan — March 5, 2007 @ 9:19:13 PM
you should buy that one type of gin there. the gilby trifecta would probably destroy the state.
Comment by Tim — March 6, 2007 @ 1:34:42 PM