Author, Kahlil Gibran said, “The real test of good manners is to be able to put up with bad manners pleasantly.”
When I was a little girl, I was taught that doctors, teachers, priests and rabbis didn’t have first names, and all other adults were called Mr., Miss or Mrs. Sometimes I was instructed to call a close friend of the family, “Aunt” or “Uncle.” I remember being introduced to “Aunt Birdie,” who made delicious sugar cookies. If she wanted me to---for those cookies---I’d call her the Queen of England!”
My father, a rabbi, (which means teacher) was invited to lecture at a Catholic college. The woman who introduced him didn’t want to use his first name, so she said, “And now I have the pleasure of introducing Father Richter.” My Dad’s response was, “Biologically, Yes. Theologically, No.”
Except for Mr. Whipple, the guy who used to squeeze toilet paper for a living on TV, many famous people don’t have last names. For instance, in history there were Napoleon, and Alexander, The Great. Unless “The Great” was his last name, we all recognize him as the King of Macedon who was tutored by Aristotle, another eminent guy with no last name.
In modern times, we have Lady Gaga, (which I always thought would be a lovely name for a golden retriever), and “The Donald”---not the duck, but the man with the bad haircut who fires people.
Nowadays, everyone calls me by my first name, even the five-year-old boy down the street, and it doesn’t even make his mother flinch. The Southern pleasantries of “Yes, Ma’am,” and “No Sir,” have given way to “What ever.”
I must admit that I contributed to the no-first-name-phenomenon, because when we used to get fresh eggs delivered from a farm, I’d yell, “Mama, the egg lady is here.” Never did know her name, but she did have a red birthmark on her cheek. Dad told me that an angel kissed her when she was a baby. I didn’t have much respect for angels after that. To think of it, Raphael, Gabriel and Michael didn’t have last names either.
Nicknames are another way to eliminate last names. Good golly, neither Little Richard nor Miss Molly had last names. Fats Domino, the rhythm and blues musician was recognized by both his girth and his game piece name, and of course most people know who Dubya is.
One way to have your last name recognized by others is to be named, Bright, Addison, Hansen, Crohn or Alzheimer. Diseases get lots of respect.
Esther Blumenfeld (“I call everyone ‘Darling’ because I can’t remember their names.”) Zsa Zsa Gabor.