“Can I just call you Pete?” I ask. I often ask students if I can call them random names. Just something silly I do.

“Um, sure.”

Then I remember an old joke.

“You and Repeat were sitting on a log. You fell off. Who was left?”

“Repeat.”

“You and Repeat were sitting on a log. You fell off. Who was left?”

“Repeat?”

“You and Repeat were sitting on a log. You fell off. Who was left?”

“Oh, I get it.”