ABSTRACT
I did not plan to become a professor when I was young, but perhaps it was inevitable. A l l my life my surroundings have included academicians and books. Certainly not by the book, however, is the spelling of my first name and its pronunciation. M y first name, Joan, is pronounced as if it were spelled Joanne. However, I have never thought of changing my parents' spelling. The pronunciation of my first name is one means I have for separating the people who know me and I care about from those I don't. I also have no middle name, and that has given various bureaucratic organizations problems. When I applied to enter the University of Chicago as a freshman, for example, those folks were concerned enough to give me the middle initial N . They assured me that it stood for "no name." So truly, as far as I am concerned, what's in a name? But with respect to my living my life by the book, that is worth an examination.
