I have to laugh...

Some of you know that I'm writing another full length time travel... and because I love the MacCoinnichs so much, I thought I'd go ahead and write Simon's book. While the plot twists in my head and I spin things on the page, I laugh every time I start to write, "Simon said." I mean... hello! As an author I've been told that a reader doesn't see the word said in a book. I can agree with this to a point, but with a my hero's name being Simon, I'm guessing my reader is gonna laugh quite a bit if I say "Simon said" too often.

Your thoughts?