No Name

 

We have a ‘name’ for everything. People have names. Places have names. The first thing you get when you arrive is a name. A movie or television show or book or a piece of music is identified by the writer or artist name. Small print at the end of the movie under contract give the names of everyone who isn’t a celebrity but turned on the lights, made the meals, costumes, soundtrack, cleaned the toilets but will not be recognized outside the industry.

A song has a name and the artist/band that plays it has a name, but who wrote it? The actors on stage giving the performance have names but someone else wrote the words. The small print in the back of the program will name the creators of the work.

What would happen if you didn’t know the name?

I went to the town, just up the road and ate a wonderful meal at that place on the river. I met a guy the other day. You know that guy who walks kind of loopy with a shaggy beard. Tall guy, kind of quiet. With that short blonde girl. You know who they are.

We climbed into a car and went out to that store that sells those communication devices. The guy got me on a call to the headquarters and I talked to some woman who set up my account with that company.

Then we went to that other place for a couple of drinks.

Without names, life can be vague or confusing. When someone says a ‘name’ the listener gets a visual picture of what a ‘tree’ is. Some might be pine trees or Christmas trees or giant redwood trees, but the name helps clarify the story. If you say the name ‘Jane’ the listener might remember the person from years ago or last week and will have an image of who she is. If you say the name ‘Mike’ there might be several Mike’s who know the speaker and the listener, so further details are needed.

If you walk into a room of strangers (bar, office, church, convention) you need a name tag. You might also need copies of job applications, birth certificates, resumes, family tree or passport to fill in the history of ‘who you are’. You could write a different name on the tag to avoid leaving a trail for future investigations.

What is that?