No class today, but I went to the University for a lunchtime talk, a brown bag lunch. I stopped at Camille’s Sidewalk Cafe, a relatively new place on Craig St. to pick up a plastic bag lunch. Len and I ate here last week while we prepared for the brown bag lunch we are giving on Thursday about our Osher blog. Camille’s has free wi fi, making it a very attractive place to work, and the food is good. It’s also not a crowded as my favorite lunch place, Eatunique, down the street.
I gave my order to the pretty young South Asian woman who asked for my name to put on the receipt. In her ears, my very ordinary biblical name became Ruff. I’m sure that’s a long u. The young caucasian man who gave me my lunch called me Ruf, with a u as in up. Within 15 minutes I had a sandwich and two new names. I sympathize with the Asian woman. I would probably mangle her name even worse. I often meet an Indian woman at the art shows I attend. She has told me her name several times, but I cannot remember it. It’s probably a perfectly ordinary Indian name. The next time I run into her, I’ll ask her to write it down.
100 Books Before I Die 
Dr. Pennypacker! What a wonderful name – it sounds like something out of Dickens. Also, the irony of that story is almost oppressive…
Names are fun! I remember standing in line at a grocery store once, behind a man who had taken strawberries from other cartons and them piled on the one he had chosen so he’d get more for his money. The price was by carton, not lbs. For some reason the clerk called him on it and he made quite a scene. His name was Dr. Pennypacker.
Just visited your blog for the Japan trip–it sounds exciting and I’m very impressed with your research. Sure makes our trips to MT and Alaska look easy. It’ll be fun following you and your plans. Too bad our time in Chicago doesn’t overlap–am arrriving there 3rd and leaving for England on the fourth. like you–I don’t trust 2 flights meshing on the same day.
For some reason, I am always called Tracy when people first meet me….