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| Bare Blue Stringam |
This duty included attendance at the club's annual summer retreat.
I know you are wondering what this has to do with nicknames, but wait for it . . .
Because both of my parents were going on the trip, all of their children had to come along.
Because.
My brother, Blair, was three.
A happy, friendly little boy.
Who didn't always spit out his words clearly.
One young man, a member of the club, asked the smiling little towhead his name.
"Blair Lewis Stringam."
"What?"
"Blair Lewis Stringam.
"Admittedly, it came out sounding something like 'Blairloostringam'.
But I digress . . .
"Bare Blue Stringam?"
"No! Blair Lewis Stringam."
"Okay. Bare Blue Stringam."
And just like that, he had a nickname.
It's that easy.
My Grampa, George Stringam had a younger brother who couldn't pronounce Grampa's name clearly.
It came out "Dard."
Thus, his nickname. Dard.
Which my brother, George, inherited the moment he was born.
My daughter, Tiana, was learning to spell her name.
She wrote the letters 'T', 'I' and 'N' properly. But her 'A's' had the lines on the wrong sides, thus disguising them as 'B's'.
Her second oldest brother, Erik was looking at a sheet of paper she had been practicing on. "Who's Tibnb?" he asked.
A name we call her to this day.
My eldest daughter was . . . bouncy.
She hopped everywhere.
We called her 'Tigger Pie'.
A lot.
So much that, on her first day of school, she insisted that it was her real name.
Oops.
I, myself have been through several incarnations of my name as told here.
My MIL didn't agree with nicknames. "Why," she would ask, "do people choose perfectly good names for their children, then go out of their way to call them something else entirely?!"
A good question . . .
My cousin Pat, called Patsy by the family, proudly wrote Pasty at the top of her school page. And was so called for many years.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
DeleteIt IS a good question....I am guilty of this with my daughter and my parents were guilty of the same thing with me.
ReplyDeleteYep. We named out oldest daughter, Caitlin. With the full intention of calling her Katie. Her gramma didn't think that was such a good idea. She stayed Caitlin. But Tigger Pie certainly stuck...
DeleteAnd Tigger is still my favourite!
DeleteBlank-mind syndrome runs in the female side of our family, so my mother and I both call everyone in our families by someone else's name. I have started to compensate by calling all the females Missy and all the males Mister or Buddy. Including our many cats. Sheesh.
ReplyDeleteThoughtful nicknames, though - I love those. As long as they're somewhat respectful of the recipient's feelings.
I'm the same. So it's a syndrome, is it? Sign me up! :)
DeleteI agree. Keep them happy names - not derogatory...
In the service business, my name got changed a number of people. Fortunately they were easy to manage because they all came up with the same name, which usually denoted a place at the end of the alimentary canal. Sometimes they even put in an adjective. They must have gotten the inspiration from a situation I was involved with for 15 years.
ReplyDeleteWading knee-deep in the stuff for 15 years can certainly have an impact . . .
DeleteOr Megan who called herself Bacon and still is bacon so many.
ReplyDeleteI'm not Sausage! I'm Bacon! There's a story that needs telling...
DeleteMy younger daughter was called Taffy for years. I could tell you how that came about, but that would mean revealing her real name online and I promised not to.
ReplyDeleteTaffy is such a cute name. All at once sweet and yummy!
DeleteI can relate with this one. My husband's name is Roger and his sisters nicknamed him Sammy. He is still called that today. We named our dog, Sammy.
ReplyDeleteI had endearing nicknames for my children but I won't get into that one.
Blessings!
I love names that you have no idea where they came from. My brother calls me Burt. Don't ask . . .
DeleteI like nicknames! They are terms of endearment, the proof that you are loved and known.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly how I feel! I love nicknames!
Delete