Tag: names

Mr. X


Mr. X

My father always liked to remain mysterious. I always knew him as Diego Rodríguez. At least that was always his legal name, as far as I knew. Sometimes he would receive mail addressed to Diego Rodríguez, Diego José Rodríguez, José Diego Rodríguez, or J. Diego Rodríguez. However, whenever he signed any contract, closing papers, or loan application, he would never sign his name the same way twice in the same document.

Some of his friends who would come looking for him would ask for him by other names such Jim, Jimmy, Joe, José, and sometimes Diego. My favorite name that my father used was Mr. X. I don’t know how or where he got it, but it certainly fit my father. One day, one of his friends came to our house asking for Mr. X and I didn’t know for whom he was asking. Finally, he asked for my father. When my father came out, he called this visitor Mr. X. So, they both knew each other as Mr. X! I don’t think they ever learned each other’s names until it was too late.

Years later, my father took me to Mr. X’s wake. Only then did my father learn his name. To this day, some people still call my father Mr. X.

DDR

Kiss


Once, soon after my son started getting into the latest cool music, according to his friends, my son asked me if I had ever heard of the rock band Kiss. He described the band before telling me the name because he just assumed that I had never heard of them. Not only that, but I also knew all their names. Wow! Was he in for a surprise!

I told him that not only had I heard of them, but that I also had all of their albums–on black vinyl, of course! He was shocked. I then proceeded to show him the Kiss albums and he was in awe of me. I truly believe my cool factor with him increased exponentially at that precise moment. Flattered by all this, I gave him all my Kiss albums. That nearly floored him. Then, I pulled the ace from up my sleeve: “I once went to a Kiss concert,” I told him. He was truly impressed by this. “And I can prove it, too!” I opened up the Kiss Alive album and pointed to a fan in the audience who resembled me when I was younger.

That was perhaps the coolest moment between my son and me! Sometimes the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

DDR

What should we call you?


Morton College, Cicero, Illinois.

My Spanish classes are always nervous about how they, the students, should address me. When I first started teaching at Morton College in 1995, I always told my students to call me David in Spanish, as opposed to David in English. Whenever someone called me Profesor in Spanish, or worse yet, Señor Rodríguez or just plain Señor, I corrected them and insist that everyone call me David in Spanish. But no matter how many times I corrected students, not everyone called me David.

Last year, I stopped telling students what to call me. Now, I respond to whatever name they call me. If they call me Señor or Señor Rodríguez, I know that they recently studied Spanish in high school. So within any one class period, I may be called David (in English or Spanish), Diego, David Diego, Profesor Rodríguez, Señor Rodríguez, or just plain Señor. Señor in Spanish means “mister” or “Lord”, which reminds me of when I was little and I prayed, “Señor nuestro, que está en los cielos …”

I really don’t want my students to treat me like God. I don’t handle power and authority very well. Señor also used to bother me because it made me feel so much older to be called Señor Rodríguez, but now I kind of like it. 🙂 Perhaps, I’m finally mellowing out.

I did have one Spanish class that always called me Dr. D. and I kind of liked that. The students really enjoyed calling me Dr. D., too, because it made me sound cool. Every single time any student spoke in class, he or she would insist on calling me, “Dr. D.” before speaking. After a while, I would walk into the classroom and say, “Dr. D. is in da house!” And they loved it!

DDR

Only in Chicago


Chicago chess set.

I love Chicago, that toddling town. The City of Big Shoulders. The City that Works. Chi-Town. The Windy City. Well, you get the idea.

Living in Chicago is always an adventure. I love to analyze the little ironies of living in our fair city. Sometimes driving directions don’t make any sense. I remember once driving northeast on Southwest Highway, then driving southbound on Western Avenue, then going east on North Avenue, and driving North on Southport Avenue.

Only in Chicago. Western Avenue was named Western Avenue because it used to be the western border of Chicago. And North Avenue was named North Avenue because it used to be the northern border of Chicago. Michigan Avenue was named that because it ran along the Lake Michigan shore before the lake was filled with rubble from the Chicago Fire.

Let’s not forget my favorite Chicago Street, Lake Shore Drive. Aliotta, Haines, and Jeramiah wrote “Driving on LSD” about that street, but they admit in the song that they were high on LSD.

Another favorite street of mine is Wacker Drive with its upper and lower drives. Most Chicago streets run east-west or north-south. However, the almighty Wacker Drive runs in all four directions! What other street in the world can use all the compass points in their addresses and give us such addresses as 200 South Wacker Drive, 20 North Wacker Drive, 5 West Wacker Drive, and 71 East Wacker Drive? Only Wacker Drive in Chicago can make that curious geographical claim!

DDR

Rodriguez is the Spanish equivalent of Smith!


My telephone directory.

I often tell my students that my surname is as common as Smith or Jones. I have known so many Rodríguezes and only about half of them were related to me. I have often been confused for other Rodríguezes as well. Part of the reason may be that there aren’t as many surnames in Spanish-speaking countries as in the U.S. (But don’t quote me on that!) So, Hispanics must stretch out fewer surnames among more people. I also have a common first name. I just looked up David Rodriguez in the Chicago phone book and there are twenty-two of us listed in the directory! And that doesn’t even include the David Rodríguezes who are unlisted, don’t have a phone, have a cell phone, are minors, or reside in jail! I even argued with my wife against naming my oldest son David for that very reason. That’s why I wanted to name him José.

USA Today (May 11, 2006) states that the 5 most common surnames among U.S. home buyers are Smith, Johnson, Rodriguez, Brown, and Garcia. Why are there so many Rodríguezes buying homes? I’m not really sure. But you see, Rodriguez is the Spanish equivalent of Smith! Even the Rodríguezes are keeping up with the Joneses.

An analysis of the etymology of Rodriguez will help explain the popularity of Rodriguez. The surname Rodriguez comes from the combination Rodrigo, the name of the last Visigoth king in Spain, and -ez. The suffix -ez comes from the Visigoth word meaning “son of.” Therefore, Rodriguez means “son of Rodrigo.” All those Spanish surnames that end in -ez mean something. Gonzalez is son of Gonzalo, Lopez is son of Lope, etc. So, is it possible that someone with the surname of Rodriguez may be descended from the noble family of the last Visigoth king Rodrigo of Spain? If so, that means that I may actually have the blood of Spanish nobility coursing through my veins! But I seem to have lost the main point of all this!