The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town; ODB mistaken identity

The New Yorker: The Talk of the Town

via Sean, via kottke.

This reminded me of a story I once heard on one of NPR's programs about a guy with the name Willie Nelson. I don't think it was even his real name, but he thought it was fun pretending to be Willie Nelson. People would call his answering machine and leave detailed stories, cry and otherwise ramble on. One day, the "real" Willie Nelson called and left a message, wondering if the guy's name really was Willie Nelson, because the "real" Willie didn't think there were too many Willie Nelsons left in the world (of course, this seems like it would be a popular name, to me). Anyway, the "real" Willie Nelson was a bit upset (in a polite Wille Nelson kind of way) that somebody was listening to messages that were meant for himself. He felt it was an invasion of pricacy toward the people that left the messages. I tended to agree with him, and so did the "fake" Willie Nelson, who discontinued the practice after speaking with the "real" Willie.

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