Only the Names Have Changed

Sometimes living in Rhode Island is like a distorted echo of living in Connecticut. Everything’s the same, only the names have changed. It’s often the small things, like TV commercials, that remind me of how displaced I am. Years of CT commercials taught me that the actor Robert Vaughan represents the Law Offices of Mark E. Salamone & Morelli, but in Rhode Island, he pitches for d’Oliveira & Associates. I hear the familiar voice, I see the familiar face, and I feel at home. Then he says the wrong name and suddenly I’m not at home anymore. It’s unsettling.