Many people were shocked when Vinny Benoit changed his name to Herman B. Triplegood in August of 2003.
He didn’t just fiddle with the first two names. Oh no. He went all the way & shook up the entire apple cart.
Then he sat back and watched with great interest as he encountered the emotional responses.
They were coming from family. No doubt about that. And friends. And co-workers & management.
Vinny, now a freshly minted Hermie, was acutely aware of the potential threat to his credibility in the corporate environment.

This could have ended up to be a really bad move.

The best thing to do was not to explain it in all of its “Hermetic Glory” too much for certain people who didn’t need to hear it.
Some were ready for it. Others weren’t. Some took to it almost immediately. Others went kicking & screaming.
The “name change” became, in some contexts, a forbidden topic to even bring up in certain contexts. Like Thanksgiving.
It didn’t help at work, probably, that one day the new Herman, came to work with a completely bald head.
Herman’s boss was worried that Vinny, now Herman, was going crazy again & might get “locked up for a few days” like before.

Herman got good at redirecting conversations about the “name change” away from the “name change” by quipping:

“It is a fine German name! Don’t you think?”
HeHe! Hence, the Herman the Three-Eyed German thing…
Instead of the Herman the Three-Eyed Cajun!

It was a TOTAL Aleister Crowley look. But really, with that clean shaven face & bald head Hermie, was thunderstruck!
It made Hermie’s face look so much like his Father’s face! And Hermie scored a one night stand one night because of that look.
A beautiful tall black woman whom Hermie found so warm & comforting to be with. Even though she was bat shit crazy drunk!
And to be honest with you, she drew the line appropriately enough. She said, “No sex. Just snuggling.” She said she was no tramp.
And Hermie believed in that wholeheartedly. You gotta remember now, Herman is a Honkie. As alabaster as white boys come.
That black gal was so grand! But Hermie didn’t pursue it any further. He knew he wasn’t ready for that kind of authenticity.
So he did the right thing. He wentt no further.

Vincent Pierre Benoit changed his name to Herman Bright Triplegood on August 15th, 2003. That is the Court Order date.
He did it to signal his total commitment to the “Dragon” which had now entered into his intellectual, imaginational & spiritual life.
Big changes were happening with Herman’s total viewpoint regarding such things as Ritual, Doctrine & Beliefs.
And the specific name, was an intentional hearkening back to Thrice Greatest Hermes, of Alexandria, circa 1st Century CE.
Hermie affectionately refers to Thrice Greatest Hermes as 3GH. And Herman always uses the initials “hb3g” because they sing.

Hermie sometimes jokes and says, “I am the Second Coming of Hermes Thrice Greatest!”

This has bee the “Performance Art of My Life” now for almost 20 years. It will be exactly 20 years come this August.
And I regret nothing. I am so glad I did it. I am so glad I embraced who I really am.