My name is James

My name is James
That's what mother called me
My name is James
So it's always been
- From "James and the Giant Peach"

My name is James. "Wait a minute," you say. "It says 'Monty' all over this blog. Now you're telling me that you're really James?!?"

Let me explain. My full name is James Montgomery Baldwin. And for whatever reason, my parents decided to give me a nickname taken from my middle name, instead of my first name. So "Monty" I have been. Except to the IRS, the DMV, the college registrar, and just about everyone else that I deal with on a non-personal basis.

So on the first day of every new college class (unless I had previously had that professor), they would call the roll. "James Baldwin?" I would have to decide whether to stick with it, or say, "I go by Monty." And that got easier as time went on, and as I knew more and more of the teachers, so that I would only have to say it once or twice a semester.

It does give me some ammunition with telemarketers, though. "Hello, may I speak to James Baldwin, please?" "He isn't here right now." "Oh, okay, I'll call back another time."

Which isn't technically wrong, you see. For one reason my parents nicknamed me from my middle name was to differentiate between me and my father, James Augustus (Jim) Baldwin. So the telemarketers never really specify which James Baldwin they are calling for, and I don't bother asking. I just assume if anyone really wants to talk to me, they will ask for Monty.

It does cause some confusion at my doctor, which is also my dad's doctor. And the doctor of two other James Baldwins as well. Who knew there were so many of us in the world, much less in a concentrated area? So whenever I call the doctor's office, I have to make sure I give them my date of birth, so they know they have the right James. And on at least one occasion, the doctor has walked in the exam room, looked at me, looked at the chart, looked back at me, and said, "This isn't you," before returning with the correct chart. Of course, he still calls me "Jim", which bugs me a little bit. But after all these years, I'm getting used to it.

So it's just one of those things that you learn to live with over time. Because it could have been a lot worse. I could have been given some horrible name that I completely detest. Or I could have been named after someone that turned out to be a complete idiot. But my dad's okay. So I'm okay.

So yes, my name is James. But you can call me Monty.