Spell It

Have you noticed the prevalence of given names with unconventional spellings?  A waitress spells her name Cheyann.  Another pronounces her name, Sara, as "SAH-dah."  A man spells his name Byll.  They're like ants: they're everywhere.

Whenever a waiter or waitress comes to our table at a restaurant, my wife tries to shush me from asking.  Not only do I ask for the spelling, but also for the story behind it.  It's often an interesting tale.  One woman proudly explained that her mama was a hippie.  Another paid tribute to her redneck father.

Then there are the foreign names.  One East Asian's first name required two full lines of letters across her ID badge.  "Just call me Randy," she said.

Introductions sometimes catch me off guard, too.  If the person mumbles his or her name, I miss it.

Say again?

Jeff.

Jeff?  Spell it for me.  (Some shorten the British Geoffrey to Geoff.)

D-e-a-f.

Deaf?

Yeah.  Are you deaf??