
My first two posts have left me feeling like I owe readers a more proper introduction. There have been some side glances perceptible towards me in that my username, Fauxlex, is spooky-sounding (I mean, it does have two X’s). A commenter versed in Latin who may or may not have been Miles Mathis himself called the name into question as meaning “false law” or “false principles”. He was not the only one, and they are correct on the facts. While this was not anything I considered at the time, it is a valid translation of my username. I have to own that. Now, taking a step back from myself, I completely understand why the name might seem nefarious. The real truth is that in college, I spent a month in Manhattan doing a seminar at the United Nations. This was for college credit…a paper had to be written, but ultimately what we got to do was meet with the UN Missions of upwards of 50 countries. You name the country, and good chance I met with them. We got to ask them anything we wanted without restriction, since these were supposed to be well-trained diplomats versed in the art of clever answers. I could tell you all many, many stories from this month. Anyway, during this month, one of my favorite stops was to Chinatown on a quest to buy a fake Rolex. All you really have to do is say the word “watch” while in Chinatown, and you will be approached by a stranger and handed what looks like a Chinese food menu, but is actually a menu of fake watches. You pick one out, various signals are given, money is exchanged, and pretty soon a fake Rolex is yours. This was a lot of fun…I cherish my fake Rolex as being a great memento from this time. Many years ago, when creating a username to comment in a completely unrelated sports blog, I came up with “Fauxlex” (pronounced Fo-lex). It made sense to me because “Faux”-lex rhymes with Ro-lex. Fauxlex, Rauxlex. A fake Rolex is a Fauxlex. This is why I uploaded the photograph as my main avatar…it was taken the day of that purchase in the NYU dorms, where we were staying.
Continue reading “United Nations & Proper Introductions” →