NEED A GREAT COVER ARTIST?

NEED A GREAT COVER ARTIST?
NEED A GREAT COVER ARTIST?

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Nicknames

Poody-do. Doodle. And Snoodle. Everybody is like WTF? According to my PaPa, I was ‘The Poody-Do’. My sister was lovingly declared, Doodle, and my brother was thoughtfully referred to as Snoodle.

My grandfather had a nickname for everyone, even bad ones. He was an ultimate racist. I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to climb under a table in a restaurant or stay hidden in a dressing room-I won’t refer to those special names he endeared peeps of different races with. Once I became old enough, his comments totally embarrassed me to say the least.

He was also known to chant, “Where’s the Doll?” That’s what he called my grandmother.

PaPa also went around our house chanting, “Big Barb. Little Barb. And All Barb. The Little Mighty Mo.” That’s how he referred to my mother.

Well, I got the ‘Nickname Gene’-way better than the ‘Racist Gene’. People I love always get one. And so do some of the peeps I don’t care for.

My oldest daughter is Fred or ET Baby. Don’t ask me why I called her the Fred. That one just popped into my head and rolled off my tongue one day, and it stuck. Still does. But when she was first born she resembled the character ET. Her fingers were long and spindly like the alien’s. She even had a long neck and head shaped just like the creature. When I looked at her for the first time and studied her face, she tried to look back. One eye would open, while the other one would close. Her eyes were a dead give away that I’d been impregnated from something that came from outer space. (I think I was. Really.)

My second daughter was dubbed No-No by the time she’d turned two. The child never learned to walk. She ran. If there was a bookcase or anything resembling shelves, she climbed it. She was never one to stay with me in any store. Especially since there were store shelves and displays to climb. The mangers at our local grocery store knew us by name. I repeatedly  said, “No. Noel,” all day, everyday as long as I can remember. Still do. So I decided to make her name and the word “No” all one deal.

My third daughter is lovingly referred to as E-Wee-Pee-Wee. To start she’d only been dubbed E-wee because she was the youngest and looked way different from the other two. Pale, pale skin. Blue eyes. Strawberry blonde hair (Yes. She was alien generated, too). But then I discovered when you snuck up on her she’d pee her pants. Viola! E-Wee-Pee-Wee became her name. She is still known as that today.

My fourth daughter originally had been dubbed ‘Holly Hobby’. She had the fattest little cheeks just like the doll. But the older she got, the more she looked like the little fairy, Tinkerbell. Especially when she piles her hair into a bun. Plus, she stands at four-foot-nine and wears a size zero. My other daughters are Amazons compared to her, the tallest standing at five-ten.

My fifth daughter is Summy-Sum-a-Lum. Don’t ask me why because I couldn’t tell you. It’s like a song really. In fact, I used to sing it to her and still do.  ***shrugs***

As for my grandchildren, Ho-Ho and Glowstick.

IMG_0142

Above is Ho-Ho. He’s part Mexican. He’s adorable and I love him. To be honest, I would’ve like to have seen my daughter with a decent Mexican. A Christian or a Jewish one. Or one that had the sense to stay out of jail. Yup. His poppy is in jail. But despite it all, little Ho-Ho is happy and has a deep belly laugh so the name sticks even though I’ve been calling him this before he popped out of E-Wee-Pee-Wee. I can only hope he doesn’t end up on the Mug Shot website one day like his father.

IMG_0135

Now for Glowstick. The story goes like this. On the day Tinkerbell had her ultra-sound to determine his gender, the little guy got his nickname. The appendage which determined him a boy, glowed big time. I mean it stuck out like a throbbing thumb. It literally lit up like someone stuffed a light bulb there and plugged it in. Really. But if you held him up close and personal like I get to, the rest of him shines. And when he’s all wrapped in a blanket he does resemble one of those Glow Worm dolls. So yeah, the name sticks.

So there you have it, guys. You wanted to know, so I told you. It’s in my DNA, and I can’t help it.

Well, gotta go. I’m going to meet Mike Saxton and Annika Doe today at the FWA’s mini-conference. I’m so excited!

Later in the ink all,

Shelly

30 comments:

  1. Great story on pet names. I have many I go by.

    Have a great mini-conference/day girl!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Family nicknames are always interesting. In my family, they usually come out of what the youngest members of the family call us. My older sister was WeeWee for a long time because one of the kids couldn't say Wendy.

    Have fun at the mini-conference.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. WeeWee is cute. Tinkerbell used to call her oldest sister, Dumb-bell because she couldn't say Danielle.

      Delete
  3. That's better than my dad calling me baby javelina.
    Hey have fun at the writer's meeting and say hi for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Were you a knife thrower or somehting, Evie?

      Delete
  4. Hahaha that really is interesting. Don't think I've ever given any of my family members a nickname. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think its a genetic disorder. I nickname my friends, too.

      Delete
  5. What a story, Shelly! This explains a good deal.

    My uncle had a habit of calling me Gerrit, something along that line of spelling. It's Dutch for rascal.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Yep, I'm a big fan of nicknames too. Gave one to my hubby soon after we met and to our three kids afterward. Our pets have nicknames too. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I did the same. My hubby is Sweetman and his belly has been named Fluffy. My Dogs as well have Nicknames which we use in their blog.

      Delete
  7. Wow, five daughters? You have my sympathies. I have four sons, and two daughters. Personally, the boys were easier than the girls (not that they were easy). lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yup. Five of them. Raised them by myself, too. Talk about a migraine.

      Delete
  8. Grandma, why do you call me Glowstick? Handle that one, will ya.

    Boo Boo
    http://joycelansky.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well, he does shine like a little Glow Worm.

      Delete
  9. Entertaining post! The family I was raised with seems so dull by comparison... On the other hand, I have about 12 names for one of my cats.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I gave Collin the nickname T-Bird when he was a baby. He won't let me tell anyone why. And I'm not revealing any of my nicknames!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cool nickname for Collin. :) I like it. It's cool. nicknames like that, and that mention the type of animal, such as panthers, tigers, Eagles, Thunderbirds, wolves, etc., I think are cool. :)

      Delete
  11. Love nicknames. :) Cool nicknames you gave your kids and grandchild. Now we all know why. Well, you did tell me after the FWA conference we'd had where we met in person for the first time. But, this blog post goes into more detail, which explains it all, more. :) My nicknames are "Shorty, short stuff, and small fry. :) I am only 4'10" (was 4"11" a couple years, back, but am slightly shorter, now, measured at 4'10" as of a couple of months ago). :) I used to go by "Pixie," as well as by "Fairy." I like those nicknames, as well. Feel free to call me those nicknames.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Those are hilarious and crazy! (Or crazy hilarious?)

    Really stopped by to say thank you (so much) for the words of support you left on my blog last week. They were greatly appreciated during a tough time for my family.

    EJ

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No problem, E.J. I'm glad your back. Life can really be tough sometimes.

      Delete
  13. Hahaha, they are awesome pet names. I never had any cool nicknames. My brother affectionately calls me Scumbag. lol.

    ReplyDelete
  14. My dad and both of his siblings had nicknames. I didn't know my Aunt Babe's name was Jeanette until I was about seven. I thought her real name was Babe!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Funny. My daughters and their friends refer to them by their nicknames, too.

      Delete
  15. Shelly, thanks for sharing all these nick-name stories. Very interesting! As for me, I don't really have any nick-names that stuck, but growing up I went by my middle name 'Annette' because my first name 'Lena' is the same as my Mom's. so now, I have most people calling me Lena and my family and high school friends calling me Annette. Gets crazy sometimes. Which do I answer to? However, as a baby my grandfather (who passed away when I was 3), according to Mom, says he called me his little Queen Bee. Then at one point a college friend nick-named me Queenie, but that didn't last long. that is a long story that involved me going home to Mom's for lunch and telling her what I wanted on the menu! My kids have nick-names, but simple ones like Hamoody for Mohamed, Omaree for Omar and Lulu for Lujain. Now if I'm angry those names might change...just kidding! Take care!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Fun, fun nicknames. Thanks for telling us how all of you got them.

    ReplyDelete

Let me know what you think.