When my son Paul was about three years old a friend of mine liked to tease him by faking a Brooklyn accent saying things like, “Aye Pauli, howahrya doin’?” or “What are yuh doin’ dere, Pauli?”.  Paul did not seem to like it and quite often he did not respond when she addressed him like that.

One day when I called him Pauli (without the accent, rather using it as a term of endearment) he did not respond either and I asked him, “Why don’t you respond when I say your name?”    He replied, ” That’s not my name.”   “It’s not? What is your name then?”, I asked.  And he very emphatically, pronouncing every word quite slowly and particular, said, “I am Paul! Just Paul!”

So, here we go:    Paul – just perfect as he is.