What's in a name?
Some of us were gifted with simple names at birth. Names that everyone can pronounce and spell, where there is no confusion about the meaning.
Names like…Nikoo.
Others were given more complex names. Names that inevitably start conversations like What kind of name is that? or Where are you from?
Names like…James.
Then there are other names that we choose. Names like May McGoldrick – after Jim’s grandmother. Or Jan Coffey – an acronym for Jim and Nikoo plus Nikoo’s maiden name. Or Nik James – you guess that one. By the way, these are the names that put the food on our table, so please, friends, remember them.
So what’s the deal about names? Well, one of us can’t remember them. And the other one of us is great at faking it when it comes to remembering names.
Nikoo: I continually mix up the names of Jim and our sons and our dog and the pet ferret next door. So when I come in contact with a familiar face out in public, I do my best to NOT mention the person by name for the fear of saying, “Hi Nancy…I mean Sally…I mean Lizzie.” I really don’t want to make a mistake.
Jim: I know everyone, and I remember everyone’s name. All right, before Nikoo jumps on this, I admit I’ve made a few mistakes over the years. Like asking a person at an event, “I remember you. You were Mr. L, my high school typing teacher.” And having the person respond, “Uh, no. I’m Jack Z. I was three years behind you in high school.”
Nikoo: And there were other moments. 😉
So why all this talk about remembering names?
We’re attending our first in-person event in a long time, to raise money for a literacy group in Richardson, TX. And if you decide to join us (Buns & Roses Literacy Tea, October 2021, please know that one of us will be searching her brain desperately for your name, and the other will address you as his favorite high school teacher.