"Actually, my Miss name was Holtz. My Mrs. name was Goodman," she wrote. "But I am no longer married to Goodman, or Dr. Goodman as The Times would put it. Now Miss Holtz isn't exactly right. Nor is Miss Goodman. Nor is Mrs. Goodman.
"To compound the problem, I will be marrying a perfectly delightful person with a single flaw. His name is neither Goodman nor Holtz but Levey. I will not become Mrs. Levey, needless to say. Nor will I go back to Holtz. Due to bylines and children, I shall forever remain Goodman, unless I change this time to Goodperson, Or simply Good."
She signed the letter "Ellen May Holtz Goodperson."
Beam closes: "Good for her. After four more years of careful deliberations, the Times started using "Ms." in 1986."
Because I was young and full to the brim of the importance of me, I verified with my manager 'Am I required by IBM to divulge my marital status to the New York Time?' 'Of course not.'
So I didn't. I called the reporter back and suggested he get a quote from Mr. Manager.
In retrospect, I'm very grateful to IBM for indulging me.