I'm presently in a nostalgic mood, trying to make Top 10 list of the most fondly remembered nicknames-of-endearment that I've attached to various of those with whom I have been "involved" over the past decade.* I'm not sure what it is that causes me to search for all sorts of alternative ways of referring to The Involved rather than just their names, and I'm worried that the practice, once thought sweet, will come to be regarded with increasing suspicion as a result of the wanton nicknaming of inner-circle-members by George W. Bush. In alphabetical order, the ones of my list, which I suppose also gives yet-another-angled view on how weird and dorky I am:
1. Amanda This, Amanda That
2. Argentina
3. Brave Sparrow
4. Bunky
5. Hammacher Schlemmer
6. Jellybean
7. Mirah-bella
8. Red Hornet
9. Sharkbait
10. Trouble
* A Joyce Carol Oates reference, for the uninitiated. Note that JCO and I were only briefly "involved" and that she was quite insistent that I call her "Joyce" or "Jacko."
** To be eligible, a nickname had to have been used at least an estimated 100 times.
