We had computer problems yesterday morning (yes, that's my excuse) and when I called for technical help the man on the other end of the phone asked me the four-digit security number, which I didn't remember. So he asked me to name my favorite singer.
I didn't remember ever being asked, by a tech person, my favorite singer. I've been asked my mother's birthplace, her maiden name, the city in which she met my father - all questions with only one possible answer. As I thought yesterday of my favorite singer I also wondered why a tech staff would resort to what is in effect a judgment call when it comes to security. Our favorites - whether singers or cereals - are subject to change.
I finally said Sinatra. I was told, in a disappointed voice, that Sinatra was not my favorite singer. Now I assumed that my wife had set up this account, and she had given the name of her favorite singer. But who would that be? Ella Fitzgerald? Marek Grechuta?
Later in the morning I called her at work and asked her to name her favorite singer. She couldn't. We are a household in need of a favorite singer. Among the possibilities are, in addition to the ones already mentioned, Ewa Demarczyk, Billie Holiday, Jacques Brel, Carlos Gardel, Tony Bennettt, Luciano Pavarotti, Sezen Aksu, Edith Piaf, Anna German, Nana Caymmi, Serge Reggiani, Caetano Veloso, Charles Aznavour, Rosa Passos, Johnny Cash and Mariza.
