NICKNAMES

Dad used to say that he could never remember anyone's name, but after he talked to a person for a bit, a nickname came to mind that he never forgot.

Dad's nicknames were popular enough that the world at large would begin to forget a person's Christian name and only refer to them by Gene's nickname. Many of the nicknames had no known connection/reference to the recipient, but once Dad bestowed your new moniker on you, it stuck.

His kids got no slack in this endeavor. I was "Piss Willy", Jimmie was "Skinny Minny", and Carolyn was "Faucho". Go figger? I don't know where these names came from, but we grew up being called such by our father.

Dad had a buddy named Alsois Calhoun Webb. Dad called him "Aussie" to the point that no one knew his real name.

Lisa was "Mouth" and Casie was "Casin".

Curtis was "Wobbler" and Buddy was "Bud Drawers".

Dean was "Uglier than I am", Hattie Lee was "Miss Ask her", and my dear bride Mendy was "Windy".

Dad referred to Mom as "Tubba" and to himself as "Gobba". (OK, Dad's explanation was "Tubba Shit and Gobba Shit", but you had to know Dad to not be offended by this)(Expletives were merely Dad's way of adding emphasis to conversation)

Dad's greatgrandkids had no clue they had a name other than Grandaddy Gene's offering as Cameron found out when she was annointed "whistlebritches".

Dad naming people according to his own catalog was so typical of his view of the world. No boundaries, no concern about what anyone might think, just pure and simple (from the heart) what you see is what you get.

DAMN I MISS HIM!