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Aug 8, 2003 The internet can be a very amusing thing. It’s predawn on August 2, and thanks to 20 ounces of Coca Cola, I’m still awake, but my energy is flagging. As a lark, I plugged in my name to the AOL search engine. Very shortly, a number of websites devoted to me popped up. Apparently, back in 1969, Miss Universe came from the Philippines and her name was...Gloria Diaz. I had a good laugh about that. I’ve never been fond of my name, but little did my mom know that she was giving her daughter the name of a beauty pageant winner two years ahead of the fact. I guess I should thank her for not sticking me with a completely bizarre name. Years ago when I worked for a small-town Indiana newspaper, I was responsible for picking up the birth announcements from the local hospital, typing them up and getting them into the paper. Most of the names were standard, or at least were familiar names with unusual spellings, but the Dice family had other plans for their second son. They named him Rollen Em. And no, the Indiana town did not have a casino, nor were there any plans in the works for one. Maybe the kid was conceived in Vegas. Who knows? As Dave Barry would say, “I am not making this up.” I was asked by my editor to verify the name on the birth certificate was indeed correct. “Do it tactfully,” I was told. So I did. I put aside my big city (hah!) contempt for small-town traditions and people who give their kids stupid names and called the hospital. If memory serves me right, the person who answered my query did so in a resigned, “what is the world coming to?” type of voice. I then told my boss that Rollen Em Dice was indeed the child’s name. Oh well, I guess it could have been worse: they could have stuck him with the name Sorry Pal, No Dice, or just simply Para, if he had been a girl instead. Occasionally, I get “any relation to Cameron?” queries. I don’t think I am, but it might be something to check into. Doing research into family history seems a bit tedious and exhausting. However, my mother is a very distant relative to dancer Vera-Ellen. And I guess that’s it for our family’s famous relatives. But back to Gloria Diaz, Miss Universe 1969. What’s she doing now? Well, she starred in a movie in the mid 70s, called “ Ang Pinakamagandang Hayop sa Balat ng Lupa,” and more recently, won the Best Supporting Actress trophy for her role in the film “Rizal.” Now, she has a sitcom called “Kool Ka Lang.” She has three children and is separated from husband Bong Daza. And what of me? Uh...I never won any beauty pageants. I don’t have my own sitcom (but I was a one-time-only hostess for a cable access show that highlighted women’s sexuality; one of my duties was to interview a couple of strippers). I’ve never been in a movie (I may share Cameron Diaz’s last name, but not her looks) and I’ve never been married. And considering the dubious quality of the men I’ve dated, staying single is one of the better career moves I’ve made so far. So even though I’ve never been fond of the name Gloria, at least I know I share a name with a famous person. Okay, so she’s not a household name in the United States, but I feel like I share something with people who have more common famous names, like those who ended up being John F. Kennedy because their parents were enamored of the “Camelot” fantasy; the countless Lisa Maries out there because their mom was a huge Elvis fan; or the Halle Berrys, who most likely are Holly Berrys, except for the ones born shortly after her rise to fame. Gloria Diaz. A Miss Universe winner. One of the same? Well, for one of us it is. The other will have to work to achieve that kind of fame. In the meantime, I’ll continue to listen to people (guys mostly) spell out my name just like in the song; or else hear their version of the chorus to “Angels We Have Heard On High.” And no, my middle name is NOT “in excelsis deo.” Could have been worse though: had I been born to those small-town Indiana parents, I might have ended up as Para Dice. Or, if they had my last name, I might have been called Buenos. Buenos Diaz. Oh, the suffering... ------------ About the author: Gloria Diaz is an opinionated citizen of Generation X (member since 1967) who occupies herself by dabbling in photography, writing and as a written communications processing specialist for the government. She has written for several diverse publications including Scram, Spleen, The Fort Wayne Free Press, and for the Huntington County TAB. Email Gloria Diaz: Scoop5767@aol.com Comment on this column in the forum. Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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