LOST wouldn't have half its charm without Sawyer and his nicknames. He's called Kate everything from Sassafras and Sweet Cheeks to Pippi Longstocking and Magellan. Apparently, Freckles is his favorite for her. Those were mostly sweet or pointedly had to do with whatever situation they were in. Not so for Hurley, who has been the brunt of mean-spirited nicknames like Lardo, Rerun and Deep Dish.
When I was a kid, I used to get jealous about other kids having cool nicknames. My parents weren't the type to hand out nicknames, but some just sort of evolved in our house. My sister, Martha, became MarMar. Cecelia was CeCe. My brother, Kerry, requested that we call him "George" (as in "of the jungle") but it didn't stick. :) My name doesn't lend itself to any catchy short cuts, so I never got one. I don't know why I was so jealous - some of the neighborhood nicknames weren't very great... "Boot" Norman, because his acne made his face resemble the bumpy bottom of a rubber boot. "Goof" Kelly because he was cross-eyed and looked, well, goofy. "Sasquatch" - and I don't even know his really name, because he was big and hairy long before the other guys were big and hairy. "Banana" stuck on Dave H because of his bright yellow hair. "Mule" for Randy Mueller because he as stubborn as one. "Mad Dog" for Mike, who decided to stalk me for years, because he was crazy. "Garlic" for Darlene D because she was Italian and always smelled, well, like garlic. "Mothballs" for Dorian F. - her brothers gave her this and I have no idea why. They called one of my sisters "Bloody Eyeball" and I think it was because she was getting high and I was too young to "get" the whole red eye thing. Maynard Norman was "Butch" and I think it was just because he didn't want to be called Maynard. Of course we had our share of Tiny's and Slim's who were anything but.
I'll never forget the day in fourth grade when Michael Sherman earned his nickname - and it stuck for life. Even at our 20 year reunion, people were still asking about him by the nickname. We had a game in Mr. Padfield's fourth grade class where he called out either questions from our lessons for the week or trivia questions. Whoever stood up first got to answer and earn points (or fake money later in the year, I owned the bank by semester's end!). The points earned you things like extra recess time, cool treats and privileges. It was quite an exciting competition. Well, the privilege must've been a biggie on the day Mike got his new moniker and competitive was heated. The question was "What is a name for 'dog' that begins with the letter 'C'?" Michael Sherman nearly broke his neck jumping up to beat me to it... he jumped so fast his chair fell over with a crash, his desk shook and he breathlessly shouted... "POOCH!" Mr. Padfield laughed so hard he had tears in his eyes, Mike didn't get what he'd done wrong... and for the rest of his life, Mike Sherman has been known as "Poochie."
Nicknames are so popular now - people invent their own for screen names and email addresses. I'm so nickname dense that I couldn't think of one, so duh! I use my real name. Funny thing is - since that Smashing Pumpkin's song "Glynis," there are a lot of people who aren't named Glynis using it as their nickname/screen name/whatever. This gives me a laugh because I have never liked my name and I can't imagine anyone choosing it on purpose.
Yesterday I read an article in the latest Women's Health (it's full of good stuff this month and some of the greatest one-liners ever) about men and their pet names for the women in their lives. The author, Christian Millman, seemed to think his bestowing the name "Corn Dog" on his wife was an act of sheer love, given that corn dogs are a favorite treat eaten during some of their happiest family times. Corn dog? Pfff. Men's Health asked its readers "Besides her name, what do you affectionately call your girl?" The results were interesting:
1. Schmoopie 2. Penguin 3. Sugarpants 4. Babe-o-licious 5. Beans 6. Queen 7. The Goddess 8. Tigger 9. Foxy Mama
Penguin sounds too waddly to me. Beans sounds gassy. The terms of endearment I'm used to are plain old "Babe," "Hon," "Dear" and most often to butter me up "Cutie Pie."
For my kids, I've always tended to just mess with their names. Jenna became Bobenna, then just Bo. Rhianna was always Rhianna Banana, then just Anna and Bee (for banana). Erin was always Erin Marin and, in a departure from relating to names, my little Pumpkin Cupcake. Even the pets get nicknames - Moogie gets called BooBoo and respects it as just another of his names. Freckles comes to anything if you have food. Virginia is The Evil One. Camille is That Rotten Cat.
~o~
GREAT butt-kicking workout today! 10 minute dreadmill warmup, 10%, 4.0 mph. 45 minutes of circuit training:
20 scorpion pushups 20 dumbbell flye crunches on stability ball 20 reps on the leg extension machine, 100 lbs. 15 jump squats --1:00 sprint on the Scifit 20 V-cable flyes, 70 lbs each side 20 decline dumbbell presses, 40 lbs 20 squat thrusts 20 side lunges with 40 lbs --1:30 sprint on the treadmill 15 close-grip pushups 10 plank ups 30 squats with 50 lbs 30 one-legged squats (15 each leg) --jumping jacks for one minute 15 military press on stablity ball, 50 lbs 30 woodchopppers (cable machine), 15 each side, 70 lbs 10 knee-tuck jumps 20 static lunges with side lat raise, 10 each leg, 30 lbs --jumping jacks 1 minute 10 hanging ab raise 30 reverse crunches -- 30 minutes HIIT on the Cybex with Arms --10 minutes on the dreadmill, 10% incline, 3.9 mph --stretching
Sawyer and his nicknames...
