My students and my colleagues all call me "Benito", which is fine, because not only is that my given name, but it's a lot more formal than my nickname, "Happy". That name has always carried with it a laugh, which is great to melt the ice, but on occasion a stigma that I'm someone you can never take too seriously. That too is okay, until you're introduced to Vice Presidents at Citibank or the Country Manager of Credit Suisse Private Banking. My former boss would call me "Happy" but would introduce me as "Benito" when we're in business circles.

So now, since my wife calls me by another name (the sound emitted by a certain farm animal), and all but a few friends in Philly call me "Benito", "Happy" seems to be fading fast.

I guess this is when I start to miss it.