Out of the blue, my beloved came up with a new nickname for me last night: Guido Razionale. She used it again this morning. And I quite like it. The mock family name has to do with my way of reasoning, which is based on rigid logic. Unbeknownst to her, though, the mock given name has a funny history in America. Guido is a slang term for urban Italian Americans of working-class origin. As a quick search on the World Wide Web will show, it used to be a demeaning name for all Italian Americans, but now it stands for thuggish, overtly macho types. The mock name and the surname are thus paradoxical. Nay, contradictory. Which suits me fine. Perfectly fine, as a matter of fact. If and when in need of a nickname, Guido Razionale would be my choice at this stage of my life. And it is my beloved’s birthday present, no less.