If you receive an email from Mark Anthony, don’t be surprised by its contents!
Let me start by saying, by way of explanation, that the name Mark Anthony is not some fancy nom de plume adopted to give me an air of mystery and grandeur. I am, in fact, Mark Anthony III but choose to avoid using that title because it makes me sound like a country and western singer.
Over the years, I have grown accustomed to the puzzlement and amusement that goes with having such a famous name. My high school history teacher, for example, would punish me for the slightest misdemeanour by having me recite the “friends, Romans, countrymen” speech while my classmates chuckled. It was only after a visit to Las Vegas that I realised that I might also be mistaken for a Latin singer and husband of J-Lo, or even a black porn star.
And then, late last night, I received a message from one of our leaders in the US who pointed out that he had just received an email from yet another Mark Anthony. Only this one is the new US national head of Change.org, the Equal Rights for Same Sex Couples/Legalize Same Sex Marriage campaign.
So, for the record, whilst I am a Liberal-leaning person who appreciates lesbians every bit as much as any heterosexual man and who has been known, on occasion, to wear a kilt even though I am not even remotely Scottish, this is a DIFFERENT Mark Anthony. No, seriously, it’s not me. Honest!
I was so much happier when I was a black porn star…
