What’s in a name…
To take a bit of liscense with Shakespeare, a Rose by any other name may still smell sweet but she’ll answer to Pumpkin, Wonder Woman, Sunshine, Boopsy, Sweet Thing or some other nickname according to the phone calls we got this morning. Meanwhile on the men’s side we got everything from Delicious and Papi Chulo to Hubba Bubba. Both lists go on but the point is what do these nicknames say about us.
Our real names, the ones our parents gave us are something we grow into. Many of us are named for relatives or friends who passed away, celebrities our parents admired or characters in a book or a movie. We’re given these names as infants when our looks and personality aren’t even formed. Nicknames are born from something specific about us (I’m not talking about the shortening of our given name) and are more descriptive like some physical trait or facet of our personality. They can also be the exact opposite of those. They can be terms of endearment, funny like an inside joke or downright cruel. Luckily most of us outgrow them and lay them to rest of course they always rear their ugly heads at the most embarassing moments.
After Al and I had been dating awhile we began meeting each others friends and relatives. He always threatened his people not to call him by his nickname in front of me. Now had he not made such a big deal out of it I would never have known he had a nickname or even been curious about it. The more he threatened anyone who might tell me, the more I wanted to know. Sadly, Al’s father passed away before I could meet him but I accompanied him to the funeral to show my support. His cousin gave a touching eulogy full of candor, religion and just enough humor. Included in that eulogy were the names of all the “kids” and their nicknames. When he was through, the only thing redder than Al’s face were the flowers on his Dad’s casket. The nickname itself wasn’t bad, it was just more suited to a mischievous round-cheeked little boy than a salt-and-pepper haired grown man.
I didn’t ride him about it- much. However, when he gets on his high-horse with me I’ll pull it out to take him down a peg. He has since found out my middle name which he usually shoots back with on these occasions and we both have a good laugh. So I guess what’s in a name at the end of the day is a good laugh, some good memories and a great deal of love.