I have one of those first names that woman have taken for themselves.<\/p>\n
It’s sort of like Billy\/Billie or Bobby\/Bobbi except in my case both versions are spelled the same way.<\/p>\n
It all started when ladies came up with strange spellings for their daughter’s names.<\/p>\n
It’s no longer Jane, it’s Jyne, or Wzittica instead of whatever it should be.<\/p>\n
I suspect the drive to be an individual outweighs common sense.<\/p>\n
When someone calls and asks for me and I say they got me…there’s\u00a0a long pause while their brain tries to handle this new information.<\/p>\n
I usually say something like it was a guy’s name before it was a girl’s name and everybody laughs\u00a0and feels better.<\/p>\n
I like people to be comfortable after they stick both feet in their mouth.<\/p>\n
Since I have only met one other man with the same first name in my entire life, you can understand it was an unusual name before women stole it.<\/p>\n
Now, if you do a Google search on my first name and look at the images tab, there’s nothing but pictures of women.<\/p>\n
Including one of a stripper in pasties named Courtney Crave.
\nNot bad.<\/p>\n
Then there’s Courtney Stodden.
\nShe’s an embarrassment to the world.<\/p>\n
I try to see the\u00a0positive side to all this.<\/p>\n
Mail addressed to “Ms” can be automatically thrown out since it’s obvious they really have no idea who I am.<\/p>\n
Then, my wife can\u00a0use my credit cards without anyone thinking she might have stolen them because they assume the name on the card\u00a0is a woman’s name – and she’s a woman – so all is well.<\/p>\n
As long as it’s not at Macy’s.<\/p>\n
She has a long and very personal history with every employee there due to buying at least one of everything if it’s on sale.<\/p>\n
And we know everything in Macy’s is on sale at one time or another.<\/p>\n
Especially ugly shoes.
\nBut we’ll save that for another time.<\/p>\n
I’ve wondered what it would be like to be married to someone with the same first name.<\/p>\n
Sounds like a script for a bad sitcom.<\/p>\n
I comfort myself by thinking all the ladies I have met in my life loved me and my name so much that they gave it to their daughters.<\/p>\n
That’s really quite an honor.<\/p>\n
Now cut it out.<\/p>\n
It’s causing me grief.<\/p>\n