Maniactive is Laura Bergells

“Laura,” I replied. 

“Spell it,” she barked.

“Spell it any way you please,” I said. 

She looked up from her pad of paper and frowned.

“I need to know how to spell it correctly,” she said.

“It doesn’t matter how I spell it. Just spell it so that you’ll pronounce it correctly. That way, I’ll recognize my name when you call it,” I reasoned.

This answer didn’t please the frowning woman. 

“Just. Spell. It.” she snarled.

I don’t like annoying people who handle my food. I spelled it, smiling to appease the agitated order-taker. She was not in a mood for playful banter.

Later, she mispronounced my name when she called it. After all, if you can’t figure out how to spell it, you’re not going to be able to say it when you read it. Or maybe she just wanted to stick it to me for messing up her rhythm. Who knows? 

This was about 14 years ago. I grew tired of these inane discussions concerning real names. 

Since then, my restaurant name is “West”. Easy to spell, hard to mispronounce. It’s an expedient name. 

Google+ has a real names policy that’s a major source of drama and discussion in online circles. As for me, I don’t have a real name. I have a real identity, but it’s tied to several names. I don’t reckon that one is more real than any other. In a restaurant, my “West” name isn’t more “real” than “Laura”. It’s simply more effective.  

What if I develop several different characters in online channels, all of whom have different names? Each character may have their own Google+ account. These characters may not be real flesh-and-blood type people, but by gum, they have real identities and real names. The Google+ ‘real names” policy will let my fictional people with real names live. 

Give it a try. If you’re upset about the real names policy, why not populate Google+ with real names of fictional characters, all of whom can friend and validate each other in an underground network that defies detection? 

What’s your restaurant name?