What's in a Name?

Last week, Prince caused a minor ripple (even my Mom and Dad commented) when he legally changed his name to the @ symbol (actually he didn’t change it to that symbol but the one he chose isn’t featured on this keyboard).

There seemed to be a great deal of hostility towards his actions; just another celebrity doing something absurd for extra publicity. But hey, at least he chose something better than say, "Sting" or "Dylan".

For the past year we have been searching for the appropriate name for our newsletter. Thanks now to @, we not only have to sort through millions of words, but now we have just as many symbols to consider. Arrrggg. We do like the Soul Man’s suggestion to change the name to some type of odorless gas.

@ is to be applauded for his decision. Most of us can recognize his voice, his music, his face (we’ve seen just about every part of his body), why label the entity with such a restrictive word as "Prince"?

As part of my phone job, I am required to answer, "This is David." 40% of the people respond by saying, "Hi Steven…" Either I have an enunciation problem or people just don’t listen very well. Nonetheless do I offer any less customer service with the name "Steven"? I don’t think so. By giving my name it makes the call more personal, yet in essence my name could be Regis and the answers, and tone of call would remain the same.

Indeed, I don’t like a caller who keeps referring to me as "Dave". It’s like a used car salesman/newly found friend, who puts his arm around me and pretends as if they really care about me, the wife and the kids. My friends can call me what they want but is it right for a complete stranger to assume it is proper to converse on a first name basis?

For the past few years I have talked to some individuals pretty much on a daily basis. We share stories of our lives (they love to hear about Max) and it takes the edge off the pile of work we all face. A couple of these people, I don’t know the names of, and it seems silly at this late junction to ask them what their names are. That’s my loss; not only are they to remain faceless to me, but two days after I leave the job, they will evaporate into the wind. For people that have made my job, and thus my life easier, that’s too bad. They deserve more.

Employees of this company are supposed to wear nametags. This is a good idea in retail since it identifies you as an employee at the same time as allowing the customer the opportunity to put a name with the person. People seem to respond to this type of contact.

In a way that’s an unfortunate aspect of human nature. What difference does it make what we call something? Why are we so dependent on labeling things? Why do we need definitions in life? That’s one of the points to my favorite "British" comedy (ok itself a label I know) "The Rise and Fall of Reginald Perrin". Al turned me on to this show several years ago and it has stuck with me deeply. The show is about a businessman who gets fed up with the routine of everyday life, fakes his suicide, only to come back to live the same life over again. His wife meets the new incarnation and to the astonishment of her daughter says she is willing to go along with her husband’s strange behavior. What difference does it make if we call him Reggie or Martin Windpipe (Wellborne)? If he’s happier with one name, why not accept the change? Precisely.

NEXT WEEK: DM reveals his new name!