The only other Teresa I have ever known was a girl I met in thefirst grade. In a class with multiple Steves, Kathys and Joes, it wasodd and I would have thought an unlikely coincidence that there weretwo Teresas.
She and I remained in the same class at the same school throughthe 12th grade. We were never really friends, and I wonder how muchof that had to do with the unspoken rivalry that comes with thesharing of an uncommon name -- not uncommon like Moon Unit, Scout orApple, but uncommon in the way that Teresa just isn't a name you seeon any expectant parents' short list. It's neither modern nor old-fashioned; smart nor ditzy; cute nor ugly; timid nor aggressive. Itsort of fades into the background.
My sister had the classic movie "Sabrina," with the beautiful andelegant Audrey Hepburn in the title role, to look to her entire life;my brother could look to no less than the discoverer of our greatnation, Christopher Columbus. My sister, I must say, always has had akeen sense of style and fashion, and my brother, as it happens,traveled halfway around the world, settling down to life on an islandin the Pacific. For me, there was nothing, and no one. OK, there wasMother Teresa, but let's be honest here, she was not human, she wassaintly. No one could live up to that example.
Who could predict that well into my adult years, another notableTeresa would surface -- one with whom I could identify and emulate.
Teresa Heinz Kerry is the ultimate role model for me, especiallysince we already have so much in common. Except that she is foreignborn and married to a U.S. senator/presidential nominee, is amultibillionaire, can speak five languages and is a generation olderthan me, we are pretty much the same person.
Let's look at some similarities:
*She has a son named Christopher. My brother's name isChristopher.
*We both spell our name without the "H," a fact that no one, asidefrom family, ever seems to get right no matter how many times theyare corrected. I'm fully expecting this to change once THK is in theWhite House.
*We have the same hair sensibility. No fuss, no muss, let it hangnaturally, and if it should fly in our faces, who cares? StevenCojocaru of "Entertainment Tonight" had a problem with Teresa's hairat the Democratic National Convention. But frankly, he lost allcredibility when he went on to praise Hillary Clinton's "sassy" 'do.Now, normally I couldn't give a flying Fendi about celebrity style,but if that 'do was sassy, I'll wear my Monica Lewinsky wig to worktomorrow.
*She's been outspoken on the campaign trail, having toldconservative journalists where to go, so to speak, and then elicitingthunderous applause at the convention when unashamedly declaringherself "opinionated." Though my outspokenness in tellingconservative journalist bosses where to go, so to speak, got me firedfrom a job once, I will stand tall here and now to reaffirm myopinionated nature. Bring on the applause.
Robert Novak's column in last Sunday's Sun-Times ran under thefollowing headline: Teresa: Asset or liability?
I say Asset, with a capital A. Teresa Heinz Kerry has foreveraltered my worldview regarding my name. I wear it proudly, a newfoundbadge of honor. I've instructed my co-workers to address me as Te-RAY-za for the remainder of the election season. And if anyone shouldhave a problem with that, I have two well-placed and affectionatelyspoken words: "Shove it."
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