The Once-in-a-While

Daily News

1  I watched the Giants' game the other night and the subject of nicknames came up. 

2  Names like The Say-Hey Kid, Stretch, Will-the-Thrill, were mentioned as nicknames for Willie Mays, Willy McCovey, and Will Clark.

3  I don't even remember who was discussing this, but a mini-debate came up about whether players called each other these names. THAT'S how bad the games had become, and that was before the Fathers' Day Massacre in Denver. Do players use nicknames in the locker room, or are the nicknames media inventions? Not rocket science. 

4  Most don't. Or do. Like I'm sure Will Clark was occasionally referred to by other players as Thrill, and McCovey as Stretch. I don't think Mays was ever called Say-Hey by anyone. He said, "Say hey" a lot, but the rest was just media and fans. 

5  It got so boring watching the team continually lose that my mind wandered, and I thought of a number of different nicknames I have had over the years. 

6  A first name like "Bud" invites nicknames. So over the years, I've enjoyed people calling me different names.

7  It wasn't always that way. In fourth grade, kids can be mean. They went after my last name. Wanna know what they called me?

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9   C'mon. Give it a shot. Last name. Fourth graders. 

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11  <basketball buzzer>

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13  "Hairyhead." 

14   Ironically. 

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17  That's why I wear hats.

18   Hairyhead. I ask you.

19   Since then, I've had lots of fun names. I got Georgie Porgied at a young age as well. I decided to keep Bud. I have mentioned here that I was named after my Dad's brother, who I always knew to have been my own Uncle Bud, so it seemed a natural course.

20  I always wondered if HE got Georgie Porgied. 

21  Both of my parents often called me Buddy, which I always liked; I saw it as a term of endearment. It usually preceded a mini-request: "Buddy, could you turn off the hall light?" Or "Buddy, could you bring me a chocolate chip cookie?"

22  That was always a favorite. 

23  Amazingly, not many nicknames in high school. I can't remember a one. But when I went to college, my roommate called me Budly, which was cool. My good friend and confidante Rosi calls me Budly to this day. 

24  I don't recall any nicknames in college either, but I don't remember much about college anyway. 

25  It really wasn't until I became a teacher that I began to gather a bunch of nicknames, particularly when I was paired

with my number one partner in crime, Ken Ponticelli, whom I have called various nicknames as well. I think one of my favorites was Kenny-the-P of the Size Three Knee. He became Mr. P, but more pleasantly just Ponch. 

26  As a teacher, Mr. H became a natural handle for me, and it eventually got shortened to just H. 

27  By far the coolest handle was given to me and Ponch by a student named Iwana Price, who came up to me and said, "Hey Mr. Harrington, I got a nickname for you. You Shawshank, and Mr. Ponticelli, you Redemption." 

28  I've said this before but it bears repeating: Any time Ponch asks for a table at a restaurant, and they ask him his name, he always responds, "Simon." I can't remember why, but if I ever do, I'll report it here. If I remember.

29  In Tahoe, we did a pirate trip down the Truckee River, and my cousin-in-law Jeff became "Captain Jack Sparrow," I became "Cap'n Numb Skully," and Ponch was simply "Smee." I have pictures. 

30

Cousin James, Smee, and Black Pearl Sistah, my

sistah Gayle, who now HAS a new handle. That's

Black Pearl Sistah giving Smee the bunny ears.

Cap'n Numb Skully and Black Pearl Sistah.

The REAL Cap'n Jack Sparrow. He kin tarn ye

ta stone with a mere glimpse.

31  There were many more. I'll reserve this item for any more that may come up. Oh, and I've been called a lot worse.

32  Moving On, Part One: The other day I was trolling FB when I ran across an article that was the 35 funniest bathroom graffiti jobs ever, or something like that. I'm not one for potty humor, but the title was close to correct. I have some clean ones, which of course, you don't want to see, but I have my dignity. Somewhere around here. I would like to share some of those with you this fine day. So here ya go!

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42  And finally:

43  I could go on, but I wrote none of these. Each author is anonymous. I don't want to tell you what horridness I saw while doing the research for this. And I certainly don't condone writing on restaurant walls. Or school walls. Or school bathrooms. I've cleaned my share of some pretty bad graffiti over the years, but admit it: every once in a while you come upon a chuckle. So no marking pens in the bathroom, leftist poets and Trump huggers. This was all in fun. 

44  I gottago.

45  Let me rephrase that.

46   

47  NVM.

48  That translates to, "Nevermind."

49  I'm on Mt. Shasta, WITH a laptop. Life's good.

50  See you again.

51  Have a GREAT day.

52  Live life.

53  Love life.

54  Peace.

~H~

fin.