Nicknames Do you have a nickname? If not, you probably know someone who does. Where do nicknames come from? In W.P. Kinsella’s book “Shoeless Joe,” Kinsella writes, “Nicknames are funny, they just land on you, like wakin’ up one mornin' with a tattoo. You don’t know how you got it, but you know it’s gonna be with you forever.” Cities have them, countries, Provinces, and States have them, and U.S. Colleges are big on them too. But sometimes they’re not the most flattering monikers. In grade school, bullies would feast on nasty and unkind nicknames that I’m sure made life miserable for many young kids. “Sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never hurt you!” Oh, yeah? Looking back, I’m not so sure that’s true. Some kids got a pretty rough ride. In most cases you don’t get to pick your nickname, it’s given to you. It’s usually a reflection of what you did, how you did it, where you’re from, or maybe something your older brother stuck on you when you were young. One of my friends was nicknamed “Thumper.” You might think he was named after the rabbit in the Bambi movie. Nope, his older brother labeled him Thumper because when Thumper was a baby, he used to “thump” his head against the crib. Simple, not offensive, I don’t think Thumper minded being called Thumper. But as he grew older, the name faded into history. It’s tough when you become a school teacher, and you’re addressed as “Thumper.” That’s Mr. Thumper to you! It didn’t seem to take much to conjure up a nickname, all it took was some wise guy to make an observation, plant the seed at just the right time, and bingo! The die was cast and the label was firmly affixed. Take for example my firefighter friend who spent his whole career with the nickname “Swee’Pea.” When my firefighter friend, let’s call him Glen, was a rookie, he would follow the captain around the fire hall and one of the older firefighters said he looked like the little baby, Swee’Pea, that would follow Popeye around in the cartoons! There you go, “Swee’Pea” was Glen’s new name till the day he retired! Are nicknames as prevalent in today’s world as they were in the past? I consulted my grandkids, and apparently not. The grandkids go to different high schools, and both report that nicknames just aren’t a thing anymore. When I went to school almost everyone had a nickname. All it took for one of our friends to have an upset stomach, just once, and he became “The Honker.” Another friend’s dad was what you would call a gentleman farmer. Instead of a summer cottage, he had a small farm in the valley. Farm? Does it have horses and cows and pigs? It didn’t matter, our friend instantly became known as “Pig Farmer,” even though he kept insisting there were no pigs on the farm! That’s all in the past, now he has a new nickname, his rugby teammates call him “Iron Man” now. That’s more like it! I heard of a kid who once got 2% on a school exam and from then on he was known as Milk! The world of sports has always been filled with colourful nicknames. In some cases, you never really knew the player’s given name! Locally, one of my favourite nicknames belonged to the New Westminster Bruins hockey coach, Ernie “Punch” McLean. I don’t think you need many guesses as to how he got that label. Haha! I never knew that baseball great “Dizzy” Dean’s given name was Jay. Or that Pee Wee Reese’s first name was Harold. Folklore has it that as a kid he was a championship marbles player and a "pee wee" was the name of a small marble. Mookie Wilson’s given name is William, but when he was young, and would ask for a glass of milk he would call it “mook,” So the family dubbed him, Mookie! Of course, there’s “Sparky” Anderson, “Catfish” Hunter, “Goose” Gossage, and many more. There was a time when disc jockeys had nicknames. Remember “Wolfman” Jack, and locally, there was “Happy Pappy” Al Jordan, Brian “Frosty” Forst, “Big Daddy” Dave McCormick, “Baby Blue” Brian Lord, “Red” Robinson, “Mad” Mel, “Jolly” John Tanner and “Bro” Jake. The music world has its share too. There is royalty, with the Queen of Soul, Queen of Hip Hop, and even Queen Bey. There are countless Kings, the King of Rock and Roll, the King of Pop, and even a Prince, and a Prince of Wails! There are some Godfathers, a Killer, a Slowhand, the Boss, there’s a Chairman of the Board, and the Last of the Red Hot Mamas. There's a Man in Black, a Velvet Fog and a Wacko Jacko, a Satchmo, a Dizzy, a Django, a T-Bone, a Jelly Roll, and even a Howlin’ Wolf. But whatever you do, don’t forget Blues Man, “Ironing Board Sam!” As the story goes, Sam didn't own a stand for his musical instrument called a button board, so he mounted it on an ironing board, and he was forever known as “Ironing Board.” Till next week... Wayne-O, Wayner, Cocker, Coxy…… Wishing a very Happy Mother's Day to all the Moms out there 💖 Love, the Blue Crew |
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November 2024
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