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Show Nicknames replace real Names . . .generally until I was almost grown that my father's friends were not really named Cactus, Homp, Bid, Frosty, Filey Joe, Tobe, Peeley, and Skinner--just to name a few. Some of the good-looking fellows in my class were Mope, Curdub, and Fizz. Three of my girlfriends were Fats, Gabby, and Bish. . .and they were all beautiful young ladies. No one in my family calls me Mary Gae, I've always been Mame (the kind you put the blame on). I was really creative and different when I named my sons Michael and David. Mike grew up to a class of three Mikes; David to a class with five Davids. Of course that doesn't matter because most of them don't answer to their right names anyway. If you visit the school and listen to the talk in the hall, or go anywhere where kids gather, you'll hear nicknames--not only for the kids but for everything else. You might think you're listening to a foreign language. Maybe that's the secret-through the years each generation makes up its own language and names with hidden meanings so the older generation won't know what they're talking about or whom they are discussing. So, don't worry so much about what you name the kids. Whatever it is, chances are it won't last long anyway. By Mary Gae Evans What's in a name? Sometimes I wonder why we go to all the trouble to pick a name for a new baby in the family. Everyone tries so hard to choose a name that .will wear well, fit the child. and not be an embarrassment em-barrassment in old age; something unique but not one that would go out of style; something dignified but not stuffy. We had the era of the Mary Elizabeths and John and William and then the Tammys and Debbies and Rickys and Pauls. And now we are on the Jennifers, Heathers, Jasons, and Jeremys. And, the far-out names that none of us can pronounce or spell are Zachariah and Zebadiah and, for girls, Tanalicia and Charilissa. We all work so hard to figure out which one to give our children and none of it really matters because as soon as they start school and sometimes before, their dear little friends or some well-meaning member of the family will tag them with a nickname and chances are it will stick with them the rest of their livess. I never knew |