What’s in a name?

A name is what identifies a person in their family and community.

The Book Of Proverbs says that a good name is to be desired above gold and silver, although in that sense, it has more to do with a person’s character than what they are called.

To avoid confusion, and in order to be completely open, I’ve decided to tell you the story of a man with two names! Me!

I was born at a time when one General Douglas McArthur had successfully led the Allied forces to victory in the Pacific, and then into battle in Korea!

My Dad’s name was Allan, and I was named after him.

Because ‘Douglas’ was such a popular name at the time, that became my second name!

That wasn’t a problem, until Mum started calling me Douglas instead of Allan.

For much of my life, I was known as Douglas, or Doug, and then Dougie.

This wasn’t a problem until I needed to more precisely identify myself.

Now that we are further into the digital age, it’s even more important to be identified properly, and to protect that identity.

Why am I saying all this? Simply because there are a lot of people who know me as Douglas, and even more that know me as Allan.

And I feel that I need to be totally transparent.

So, what do you call me? If you know me as Allan, that’s fine, and if you know me as Douglas, that’s ok too!

In fact, as I’ve said many times, you can call me just about anything - just don’t call me late for dinner.