More than a Nickname

I have gone through my fair share of nicknames in nearly 40 years. Below are just a few.

Billy: I guess this one is not that uncommon for someone named William. I made the switch from Billy to Bill around the third grade. Frankly, I can't really remember what caused the change other than I wanted to feel more grown up. Or maybe I couldn't form the letter 'y' very well in handwriting class. Anyway, Bill became what I answered to. Unless my Mom was angry at me, and I knew I better respond by full name with specific emphasis on my middle name.

Spanky: One of the very first true nicknames that I can remember. I was pegged with this name shortly after playing the part of the loveable character from "Little Rascals" in television commercials, door-size posters and other marketing campaigns promoting Gum Pach (pop rocks that turn into bubble gum) while living in Japan. At age nine, people recognized me for playing a celebrity from another country and another generation. After I explain my first "career" to new friends that I begin to trust, Spanky becomes a short-term nickname.

ID: As a freshman in college, I had the habit of knowing the most trivial facts and was the ace in the hole for our dorm's floor while playing Trivia-Thon on the campus radio station. "ID" is short for Information Director.

Sid: As quickly as "ID" came about as a nickname, Sid came along as a sophomore in college. ID morphed into Sid through my knowledge of sports and that I worked in the college sports information office at Buena Vista College. In the collegiate athletics world, sports information director is abbreviated as SID. Hence, my new nickname. For the next three years in college, all but my roommate, a few friends and professors knew my real name. Even today, friends from my college days still call me Sid. Maybe that is why I have lost track of them over the years - they don't know my real name.

Wild Bill: I had an alter ego in college. For three years, I had DJ shifts on the campus radio station. I had a few different name over the time, but my favorite was Wild Bill. On the microphone, I could change my personality and become someone entirely different than myself. For those who know me, I am far from being wild.

Billionary: A nickname I have had at various stages of my adult life. It came about from a common practice of mine - making up words on the fly while talking. I know exactly what I mean to say, but some made-up word comes out and people still know what I mean. So instead of someone named Dict's book of words, I had my own called a Billionary.

Billionaire: While working in Texas, this nickname came out one day as one of my co-workers discussed how little money we were making. All of sudden, billionaire just became an instant nickname for myself.

Billiam: This nickname has survived in a view different locations with uncommon links to the friends. I assume Billiam is a common term for people calling their friends named Bill. It does rhyme with William and has Bill in it. And it does have a cool sound to it.

Billster and Mr. Bill: Like Billiam, these two nicknames have come and gone at different stages in my life.

Sponge: Like a sponge absorbing water, a friend identified me like a sponge because if I read or heard something, I could recall it. It may take a little to get the information out, but the information was swelled into the brain membranes. This nickname changed slightly for some people and soon became known as SpongeBill, one of my favorite cartoons.

Mentorfessor: A co-worker coined this nickname recently. It is a combination of being somewhat of a writing mentor for her. After telling her I was a college instructor for a semester, she shortened professor and combined it with mentor.

And then there were some not so pleasant nicknames. Punk. Porky. And even more unflattering names.

So why did I make this a subject of my blog, you may ask. There is a meaning to it other than a short history lesson as to names I have answered to.

Like nicknames, people know each one of us in different ways. A lot of times, the nickname itself kind of relates to the level of relationship or how people know one another.

As for me, even my good friends only know a small portion of my life and sometimes it is related directly to which nickname was in use.

Each nickname I have had brings back fond memories for those times that it was common to hear. For the most part, I would not trade-in any nickname as it means a transition in my life and a different set of friends.

And really, nicknames are coined and used by friends. And for that, I am thankful that I have so many friends.