DEAR ABBY: I have an acquaintance who calls me by the wrong first name, and I don't know how to correct him without embarrassing both of us. We both grew up in the same town, although we didn't know each other back then. He became a doctor and moved to northern California. Our mothers know each other, but his mother is now in a nursing home and can't communicate.
When I first looked him up, I introduced myself. Since then, he has been calling me George. (My name is Jim.) Most of the time I see him at the weight room at the health club, and he greets me with a big, "Hello, George!" I thought about correcting him, but he can't hear me because he has earphones on.
Sometimes we'll cross paths in the locker room and he'll say, "How's it going, George?" and keeps on walking. I don't think it would be cool to open his shower door and correct him. How can I solve this embarrassing problem? -- JIM AT THE GYM
DEAR JIM: Your mistake was in not correcting him immediately. Unless being called by the wrong name is "george" with you, open the shower door and correct the man. I guarantee that if you do it once, he won't get your name wrong again.