Say My Name

Oh Boy my name.  I was given this name.  Therese DiBartolo.  No accent on Therese no middle name.  A mouth full of words and letters and ethnicity.  What's a girl from Long Island to do?  Marry an Irishman with a more common last name-Phillips.  At least wit hone easy name everything flowed a little easier.

Then I moved to California.  Number 1-the Name DiBartolo belongs to the 49er family.  So when you say it people mostly know it.  Then there's this other thing-everyone here has hard to pronounce ethnic names.  And they have many many names.  Double last names triple first names middle names everything.

Plus there is this movement about pronouncing names correctly.  Its cultural insensitive not  to try and pronounce names correctly. and suddenly a name like Therese DiBartolo is cool.

I'm still Therese Phillips except on facebook where I have both names.  But a couple of summers ago I was able to go to Europe.  I was in Cannes.  Yes that one.  The one in France.  Yes and I was walking past a shop and in the window was an apron with my name.  Therese.

I was so excited.  There are no license plates in souvenir shops with my names or quizzes or anything.  My name.  THERESE. (rhymes with Perez if you aren't sure)