To do right

Once I met one person from Beirut. He is Muslim, like about seventy percent of the Lebanese population. Yet, like many Lebanese, his parents gave him a name from the Bible — Canaan.
When he moved to the U.S., he started going by the name Ken. Perhaps he felt it sounded more “American,” where everything seems to have a shortcut. But he may also have wanted to avoid any association with the Bible. In the story, after surviving the flood, Noah became drunk and lay uncovered in his tent. Ham, Canaan’s father, saw his father’s shame and told his brothers. When Noah regained his sobriety, he unexpectedly pronounced a curse on Canaan, though the text does not explain why.
Ken was planning to apply for a green card, so it was understandable that he didn’t want any connection to a story involving indecent exposure — intentionally showing private parts in a public place — which could lead to criminal charges ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony.
As we know, life stands on pillars, which are slightly different for each person. For Ken, they were his legal status in the U.S., his work, and his desire—as a young man—to fall in love.
Ken had started dating, but as a non-native speaker, he sometimes mixed up words he had heard, and that often led to serious problems.
One warm summer evening, Ken sat on a bench with a girl he really liked.
“You can…,” she said with a gentle sigh.
“Of course I am Ken… why is she asking about my name?” he thought, unsure of what to do.
“You can…,” she said again.
“Yes, I’m Ken,” he said, looking puzzled.
The girl jumped from a branch and turned to Ken.
“ You are an idiot,  I allowed you to kiss me ”, she said and rushed away.
The next time, he got a perfect match with a beautiful girl on a dating app.
When they first met, Ken, being superstitious, walked her to a different bench.
“You’re Ken?” the girl asked curiously.
“This time I know what to do,” Ken thought, and kissed her with all the desire he had.
“You are an idiot! I only asked to confirm if it was really you I’d been chatting with on the dating app,” she said, and rushed away.
When he finished this story, I thought for a minute.
 “Listen, you should change your name to Able. Nobody says ‘you able’ in casual conversation instead of ‘you can,’ and then all your dating will go more smoothly,” I said.
After my words, I saw a spark of hope in his eyes.
“And also, in the Bible Cain killed Abel. When people hear your name, they’ll feel kinder toward you,” I said.
Ken changed his name to Able, and it worked. He found a girlfriend and got his green card earlier than expected. Sometimes you need to do just a little thing the right way to achieve great success.