Nameless

Molinette Hospital, Turin, February 2022

I’ve noticed that the nurses address the other patients in my room by their first names, but me as Jones (no ‘Mr’). I explain that Jones is a surname. There is a similar first name John (or Jon), but mine is William. William Jones. Sticking with the surname idea, they start calling me John. I should have kept quiet about him (or Jon). Sometimes Italians reverse the order, usually in official situations, but this isn’t very official. So I remind them again that my first name is William. Now they decide that I’m Williams. I explain that Williams is a surname, but it’s not my surname. My surname is Jones. So it’s back to Jones. Then I’m deemed to be ready to be let loose on the outside world with my bewildering variety of names. I just hope they discharged the right person.