In this clip, Lawrence O’Donnell rails (gently) against people, most particularly Mitt Romney and Rick Perry, who don’t go by their first names. It’s not exactly serious. But I have to say that although I know many fine people who go by other-than-first names, it does make me go hmmm.
But the weirdest/most charming item is O’Donnell’s confession that his “Starbucks name” is Jim.
My buddy Melissa’s Starbucks name is Cynthia, because somebody at Starbucks called ehr that years ago and she didn’t have the heart to correct her. It’s a bit like the case of Jerome Williams, who was called “Jeremy” when he played for the S.F. Giants. (I know the feeling. I had a teacher in middle school who called me Muriel.)
I think a lot of people have other names they use in some facet of life. The Canadian uses “Morgan” when he’s going to be paged, say, at a busy restaurant, because he once heard that Morgan is the easiest name to distinguish. And I’ve known somebody who used an Italian name when he ordered pizaa, becaue he figured they’d take a little extra care.
Do you have an alternate name, and how do you use it?