A Rose is a Rose is a Rose

A Rose is a Rose is a Rose
Gertrude Stein

What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.
William Shakespeare

Gertrude is saying: “Bill, there is no other name. A rose is a rose is a rose. Period.

Now, back to the 20th century!!

The names of the big powerbrokers around the world are just what they sound like – POWER. To really know them, you would really have to know their nick-names -- sorry, I’m not privy to that either, but here are a few nicknames of people I encountered in my younger days, K through graduate school.

1) Buzzle But – Professor in college
2) undercover – he was short and wide
3) Gravel mouth, an athlete who talked fast and sounded like he had marbles in his mouth
4) Rodent – nice guy with a small head
5) Rip – nice guy, but was often in trouble talking (at that time a person ripped when he got out of line at a bad time.)
6) Playboy – (No explanation necessary
7) But Low, a great football player who had very short legs
8) Muffle Duff – a leader of our jazz band who was always tumbling for no reason at all
9) Peanuts – loved ‘em
10) Slick – he was slick, period
11) Giant – he was small and anything but giant-like
12) Pickle – loved them
these were all good people, some became very successful, but had nick-names that were not the usual run of the mill. Oh, one more. I played bass with the Wilberforce Collegians for about two years. We traveled for three months in the summer. This particular summer, we started in Kokomo, Indiana. We all agreed that we blew that town almost off the map.

Of the l4 or l5 players, I was the only one who was a physical education major, and perhaps, had a little better build and was a little more “fit” than the others. They called me “Gorilla.” At the intermission in Kokomo, Indiana, a young lady talked to me about Wilberforce University and expressed an interest in the school and wanted to keep in touch. She wrote my name and address on a card, said that she would keep in touch. I also gave her my school address because we would be back at the school in a few weeks while on tour.

We went back on stage to play and she ran up and said, by the way, is Gorilla really a part of your name? I told her it was just a nick-name.

After a couple of weeks, we were back in Ohio and one of the fellows picked up the mail at the school and we were on our way to Michigan.

I liked to sit up front next to the driver in a seat a little lower than the driver seat – to help protect the lives of the guys – especially mine. I opened my letter and the first thing I saw was “My dear Gorilla.” Unfortunately, I was not the only one who saw that and he hollered it out, “My dear Gorilla?” The rest of the summer, the guys called me “My dear Gorilla.”

Lucky for me, it didn’t carry over during the next year. However, my brother-in-law, who was in my class, called me “G” for the next 30 or 40 years. ha – the joke was on me.

Signed,

Gorilla