What’s in a name?

Readers tend to ask me the same general questions, namely, ones that might occur to anyone (do I work at home, what’s my favorite column, how’s the paper doing, did you grow up here, etc.). But now and then a question seems to come out of nowhere.

For instance, there was the woman who, after a book signing in Pomona in February, asked conspiratorially, “Are you really bald or do you just shave your head?”

This brings us to last week, in a Q&A in Rancho Cucamonga, where a man threw a very original Q at me: “Is ‘David Allen’ your real name or a pen name?”

After a couple of seconds of gaping at him, I replied, “Because ‘David Allen’ is such a glamorous and exciting name, it can’t possibly be real?”

“It’s a yes or no question,” he said defensively. (It’s not, though, is it?)

For the record, it’s my real name. I’d like to think that if I wanted a pen name, I could come up with something a little more exotic.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Plusone Linkedin Digg Reddit Stumbleupon Tumblr Email