I received a letter today (a real one, mind. Not something suggesting that my life might be somehow more complete if I applied for another credit card and got a free toenail polisher as part of the deal.)
The letter was unusual in that the signature was legible. It said:
P.A. Stafford (Mrs)
Why? Why do I need to know that P.A. Stafford is a 'Mrs' ? - I'm pretty sure 'Mrs' isn't a diploma handed out by a university or anything (and it would take an ego of epic proportions - matched only by similar insecurities to handwrite your qualifications in your signature)
Does P.A. Stafford want to ward off unwanted suitors? Could it be that she is proudly proclaiming to the world that she has a life partner with whom she has participated in a signing-of-a-book ceremony and is rubbing the noses of the singletons of this world in it? Why?
No, we should not adopt titles, marital or otherwise, in signatures. We should instead be forced to write our personality traits in those parenthesis. Just like Charles Dickens (who had a habit of naming characters "Miss Lovely" and "Mr Total Bastard")
For example:
R.A. Jones (Obstructive Bureaucrat)
T. Smith (Helpful But Ultimately Useless)
P. Pilkington-Smythe (Arsehole)
N. Single (Charming, Debonair And All Round Good Egg)
I don't think the world's supply of ink could stand it.
