[This essay was written originally in 2000 October, during the height of the New York Senate campaign between Rick Lazio (R) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D).]
It started simply enough with the questions about whether or not we were related. Then my parents' Web site started getting hits and email, lots of hits and email. Next I received a long, rambling message on my answering machine asking for information about the Senate debate, and the other day somebody hesitated on my name, then confessed that he had wanted to call me "Rick" though he knew that was wrong. These days, even local merchants have begun asking if my name is "Rick."
Maybe it is my New York connection that draws this attention. After all, I spent seven years in Upstate New York while attending graduate school at Cornell University. I slogged through the nine-month winters. I enjoyed the too-short summers (where air conditioners are hardly ever necessary!). I saw and tasted Upstate New York's successes---the wonderful cheeses, white wines, and charming B&Bs. I also saw Upstate New York's problems---the small towns struggling to retain jobs and people, the urban areas nearly devastated by middle class flight to the suburbs. I even visited New York City once or twice.
Then again, maybe it's the last name. At the turn of the last century, there was a mass migration of people from Italy in general and the island of Sicily in particular. Among the families making the trip from the Sicilian port of Palermo to the US were many named Lazio. Some settled in the West, some settled in the Midwest, and some settled in the East, notably on Long Island. Some of us moved around and crossed paths. I grew up in the Midwest, moved to New York for graduate school, and now find myself in D.C.; he grew up in New York and won a House seat.
Truth be told, some of the attention is flattering. During a recent visit to New York City, I asked some campaign workers for some Lazio buttons. Once they found out my last name was Lazio, too, they couldn't wait to give me stuff. One enthusiastic volunteer gave me the shirt off his back. My mother-in-law even got into the spirit by finding me a "Women for Lazio" sign. I'm not sure if my wife likes it.
I must confess to a certain amount of envy toward candidate Rick Lazio, though. As a boy, I always thought that it was so neat that my last name was the same as the Italian province surrounding Rome. I naturally assumed that the province had been named in honor of the heroic deeds of an ancestor. As I grow older, I've begun to suspect that my family got the name simply by virtue of having been from the Lazio province. (Although, if this is the case, the family must have moved from Lazio to Sicily many generations ago, as the current family in Sicily quite proudly traces their roots to Sicily for many generations.) Either way, I also wanted the name Lazio to attain national prominence, though I had planned on it being because of my scientific achievements rather than from somebody else's political aspirations.
In general, I do not go out of my way to attract this attention. My current answering machine message does not mention Senate, New York, campaign, Republican, election or any other word, term, or phrase that might lead one to believe that I was running for the Senate or any elective office for that matter. (Nor does my parents' Web site suggest that they are running for any office.) It would be easy for me to question the general level of cluelessness among many of candidate Lazio's supporters. Yet, in all fairness, I imagine that Hillary Rodham Clinton has her fair share of clueless supporters. I am sure there are many New Yorkers who do not understand the controversy over her "carpet bagger" status. After all, almost every New York town has a Clinton Avenue, Clinton Park, or other public place named Clinton. Who else would merit such status? (Actually these are named after DeWitt Clinton, one of the architects of the Erie Canal.)
All of which leads me to a small moral dilemma. My current answering machine message is fairly bland and insipid: "You have reached 555-1234 .... Please leave a message, and we will return your call when the auspices are favorable." A friend in graduate school maintained that an essential difference between conservatives and liberals is their attitude toward making money using questionable tactics. When confronted with such an opportunity, a liberal asks, "How could anyone think of doing that?" A conservative asks, "Why didn't I think of that?" So should I be a conservative or liberal? I could change my answering machine message, "Hello, you have reached 555-1234. This is not the Rick Lazio Senate campaign headquarters nor the Republican National Senate Campaign headquarters. If you'd still like to leave a message, please do so after the beep."
Alternately, anticipating my run for county dog catcher in 2008, perhaps my answering machine message should be, "Hello, you've reached Lazio campaign headquarters. We're unable to take your call personally at this time, however, if you'd like to support candidate Lazio, please send your check or money order to ...."