Name Dropping

With my surname being almost as popular as "Chang" in the Hong Kong directory, it is no wonder that I sometimes have trouble with hotel clerks and restaurants. Some years ago on a busy social Saturday I had to attend a wedding reception in the afternoon in Philadelphia and a Dinner Dance in the evening in New Jersey. I needed a place to change in between and pulled into a "reputable" motel on US1 and in my naivete I said to the desk clerk "I am in between engagements and I need a room for a couple of hours." He looked at my name and handed me the key to room 108. I hustled down the hall and as I turned the key a female voice from within said "Who is it?" I beat a hasty retreat to the lobby where the occupant of room 108 was on the phone berating the desk clerk.  Years later I began to think that my surname was the key to room 108. After several restaurants gave away my table I began to use aliases. It was a time when the Tavern on the Green in Central Park (NYC) was a very popular spot for Sunday brunch. Anticipating there would be a crowd I reserved using my father-in-law's name. On the day of the event the New Yorkers with their sharp elbows and demanding voices were crowding the lobby and as I inched up to the hostess I had forgotten what name I was using. Luckily, reading her book upside down I spotted a familiar family name and was admitted. Once at a hotel check-in I asked my wife aloud "What name are we using tonight?" She wasn't amused. Lastly, when I lived in Yonkers, N.Y. my address was One David Lane and so David Lane became my nom de plume for a time and it was strange hearing David paged on the P.A. system and hoping other neighbors were not in the crowd.
tjs
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