I am bothered by the most mundane things. That is probably a problem with me, but this is my blog. That means that, in this space, the problem is with that thing. Some of them have long been bothersome. However, this one just cropped up as my life has become more social.
What is this “nails on the chalkboard” thing?
It is calling people by their last name, and it is something that needs to be explained.
Let us say, hypothetically, that a couple wants to invite another couple to dinner. Someone says, “We should have dinner with the Bradys.”
In my mind, using the last name is too formal. I think someone should say, “We should have dinner with Mike and Carol.”
See, it sounds more relaxed and friendly. The dinner is not going to be black tie. It is probably going to be something at the local Chinese place.
What about this?
“Did you hear about the Munsters? They live in that weird house down the street. Their pet dragon is terrorizing the neighborhood.”
They should be asking about Herman and Lily. Of course, there should not be any gossiping going on. Â If there is, then it definitely does not need to sound formal. Gossiping is one of the most lowdown things that we can do. Unfortunately, we all do it. Perhaps, I should write about that sometime.
SBI: A Thinning Crowd 
How big IS that dragon?
I don’t know. He lived under the stairs.
I’m lousy with names Rich.
I have a hard time, too.
Do sports teams get a pass? Can you imagine an assistant coach yelling “Peter!” and three guys turn around. Vs. “Hammond!, Rayburn! Gretsky!”
They get a pass because there may be a lot of people with same first name. Of course, there could be people with the same last name.
I can imagine that….”Baker! Johnson! Lee!” Six guys could turn around.