January 13, 1999

You are unique. Your name, on the other hand...

If youÕre Bill Johnson, John Jones or Michael Smith, youÕre used to the idea there are lots of others with your same name scattered through the nation. You may have even met a number of your fellow Bill Joneses or Mike Johnsons.

On the other hand, if your name is Paul Azevedo you may have spent half your life, as I did, under the illusion you were unique. Not true. There are at least a dozen other Paul Azevedos out there, including one in Bozeman, Montana, of all places. In Petaluma alone two Pauls have to clue their friends by adding their wives names to their phone listings. ItÕs become easier to find people since CD ROMs with nationwide phone number listings went on sale. Within minutes of installing my new CD ROM phone directory I found an army roommate I lost track of 44 years ago. When I called him I found heÕs had a successful life in his chosen fields of Classical music and the French language, to the point of being listed in WhoÕs Who. But heÕs made his success in his hometown of Baltimore, and I never used to have easy access to Baltimore information.

To satisfy my curiosity I checked out the names David Carmany, Barbara Carr, Maxine Gonsalves, James Vreeland, Nick Gust and Calvin Hinton on my CD ROMs. There are at least four other David Carmanys, several Jim Vreelands, four Barbara Carrs (not including PacificaÕs), at least one or two other Nick Gusts, at least one other Maxine Gonsalves, and at least one non-Pacifican Calvin Hinton.

Even though all these folks are listed, a good rule of thumb would be to assume at least half the folks with your name are unlisted. If I find 12 Paul Azevedos listed, itÕs likely at least another 12 adults with that name have chosen to stay out of phone books for good reasons and bad.

There are shortcomings to having a listed phone number and address. Every night at supper time I get at least one call from Ò99er double pane WindowsÓ or some jerk from Pennsylvania who hasnÕt got a clue how to pronounce ÒMr. Az-uh-uh-uh, may I speak to Paul?Ó

ItÕs no wonder half my fellow Pacificans are unlisted. Not only that, half those who are listed leave out their addresses.

I sympathize with the unlisted folks. I have my home phone listed for the benefit of people I want to hear from, not to be telemarketed incessantly, or worse yet, dunned by some collection agency.

One of the most useful tools for researching San FranciscoÕs residents from the 19th Century is the annual PolkÕs Directory. With its help I was able to trace my wifeÕs relatives from their arrival in 1870 until they moved to Oakland about 1890. Today, with all our computers, CD ROMs, data bases, etc, itÕs harder than ever to learn about people, where they live, where they work, etc.

So many people are reluctant to make it too easy for bill collectors, telemarketers, and other unwanted callers to intrude on their space, that they have also given up on the undoubted benefits that come from a listed telephone and address.

Paul Azevedo has had a listed phone in Pacifica for 35 years, and has been writing the Reactor Column for almost 24 years. He also welcomes most E-mail, at Paul@thereactor.net. DonÕt call or E-mail if youÕre telemarketing.