What's In A (Nick)Name?

I recently had feedback about the nickname’s I use in my blog. Reader were surprised we would call my mother, Annette, Netty; as well as calling our grandmother Mimi.
But you see kids, I have a God given right to call friends & especially family nicknames! Because very rarely am I'm NEVER called by my Christian name, Kevin. While I previously discussed the mean spirited & negative names I’ve been , I will now list the names I am affectionately referred to by family and friends. If memory serves I will give a little anecdote of how the nickname came about.

First, we will start with the one that started it all. As far back as I can remember, my ball busting Uncle Barry gave all the 8 grand kids a nickname. I can’t recall the other 7 kids’ names, maybe it was due to the nickname never stuck to them as well as a one would to me. That nick name was ‘Niffer".. When I was little I was "Little Niffer’ and as I grew I graduated to "Big Niffer".

Then there was the nickname I was appointed to by my grandfather (Mimi's husband), Papa. Papa would always refer to me as "The Scooch". "Scooch" was Italian for "pain in the ass". Well, I guess I did deserve that title, since I was the one that clogged the toilet with too much toilet paper on Christmas Day. Papa, with the reserve Italians are known for, proceeded to throw me out of the house and sent me home.

After Uncle Barry relinquished his crown as the family name caller, my older brother Sean took over the throne. The next few names were appointed to me by him.
First there was "Nookie". I got this name as a small child because I was always watching Sesame Street. For those old enough can recall there was a segment on the show where a cartoon typewriter would give the view a word of the day. When this typewriter would enter and exit the screen he sing a little ditty, "Noonie, Noonie, Noonie". My brother used to pin me to the ground and squeeze my nose until I chanted the typewriter’s song, because evidently I sounded just like the type writer when I did. That is how "Nookie" evolved and to this day I am usually still called, but with out the wrestling match.

Then there were the two nicknames in one. In my parents’ archive of photos there were several of me at the age of 2 or 3 where I was sporting a big red Afro. Yes, I was the whitest kid with the reddest hair on the block & I had an Afro. Yet calling "Curly" just was not creative enough for Sean. Being that it was the mid 80's and the show Dallas and JR Ewing was at their pinnacle. Sean decided the better nickname would be "Curly KR". So that nickname stuck for a while.
The last name Sean created for me came during the night we spent at Mimi’s and we were lying in bead talking. Sean was inquiring that when I got old if I were to have kids what should the kids call me. Well Sean felt "father", "dad", or "daddy" were not appropriate enough. So as I was about to fall asleep., he shook me and yelled out "How about "Pappy". Of course this name stuck and I was referred to as "Pappy" for a time.

And those are the nicknames I have been appointed over the years. While none have stuck as well as the previous mentioned "Nookie", I have a feeling new one's will be appointed. Sean's daughter, Kendall, inherited the knack for name calling. We were playing school one day and naturally I was the teacher. Kendall did not think calling me Mr. Brady was creative enough, so she came up with the original, "Mr. Bachagaloop". Which I am stilled by my niece no matter how many time I remind then school is over.