J.J.:

Pity. I think “Derb Miller” would have been an excellent name, a name any

American could be proud of. The principal rule I laid down when the issue

of naming our own children came up was that their names shoul be dactyls, as

“Derbyshire” is. This will make it easier for scops and gleemen to

celebrate their deeds in verse.

On the larger matter of names, check out this piece from BBC News. In Presidential races, it

seems, the guy with the shorter name has an edge. That’s why Bush-Gore was

so close, see?

I am greatly enjoying your book Our Oldest Enemy… But I wish you could

have found space to mention my own venture into Frog-bashing; your book

has no index entry between “Democracy in America” and “Derrida, Jacques.”

Is it a sign of something when, on picking up a book, you go looking for

your own name in the index? Probably.