Before I get into the meat of this post, let me preface by saying overall I do enjoy my name. It is unique enough that I don't share my name with anyone I know personally. However, it is common (and simple) enough that I don't get "How do you pronounce that". In addition it is a name that easily lends itself to other nicknames. I have rarely been called just "Don". It is often altered or mixed with other words/sounds (my name is often sung) to be creative. In addition, as it is used as a title in both Spanish and Italian, it often allows for fun variations such as "The Don" or "Don Corleone". So overall, I like my name.
However, every now and then I get reminded of one key fact that demotes my name: It is an OLD name. If you google image search "Don Cordell", this picture is the first one to come up. I mean seriously, doesn't everyone have an "old uncle Don" somewhere. While this has helped thin out the number of contemporaries I have to share my name with, it does make some things difficult. Namely, old people say and do stupid things at a much higher rate than we young adults do. This has been brought to media attention recently when Don Imus made his comments about the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team. I know, I know, he was trying to be funny. But it was a STUPID COMMENT. The type of stupid comment an old man makes when he is trying to be "hip" and "funny". In a response on Al Sharpton's radio show he said "I didn't think it was a racial insult, I thought it was in the process of us rapping and trying to be funny." Yeah. Anytime a 67 year old white man talks about "Nappy-Headed Ho's", he must be rapping.
Anyways, that's just the most recent example of a stupid old man doing my name "proud" (said sarcastically). Another example I ran into is at the following web address: http://www.doncordellforpresident.com/. To make it worse, this guy shares my LAST name too. His presidential platform is nothing more than a ridiculously long rant about why he hates Mexicans.
Is it up to me to redeem the name "Don" for future generations?
