csberry

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Every kid is picked on and called names. The laziest of all nicknames are plays off of your name. From my Army Brat perspective, I feel that my mobile childhood kept me in the low tier of societal bonding. "Cordless" was the easy nickname combining my name, the new-fangled phone technology, and the basic male jokes about genitalia. As a young teen, I yearned to develop enough of a bond to "earn" a nickname. I'm not W, but I like nicknames and will easily slip into using those...because I'd want people to call me by my nickname (why wouldn't people want that? - yeah, I know). My dad gave my brother the nickname "Shortlegs," but it's me that uses the nickname enough to keep it alive. Calvin calls my brother "Uncle Shortlegs" more than half the time.

The only nickname I've really had in my life is "RoadKill." When Darrell came to WTN, he wanted to have a stunt boy on the show. As the call-screener, I was available to leave the studio while Thom manned the board and did phones. This role involved putting me in sometimes bizarre, sometimes poignant, and sometimes abusive situations (as illustrated by the partial list in my userinfo). While my personality was a good fit for this, I needed a good nickname to use on air. It's easier to abuse a "Rat Boy" or "RoadKill" than it is "John Smith" and have the audience accept the event as entertainment.

So, with that in mind, we decided to let the show's listeners come up with the name. Some of the names the listeners submitted and voted for:
RoadKill
SpeedBump (my preference)
Possum Boy
Rat Boy
Gay Boy (yeah, w00t! conservative talk radio!)
My favorite part of the process was the morning we brought the guy that produced the show opening on the air. Bumper Morgan* set up shop in the production room next door, we were able to bring that room on the air, and we had him redo the show opening (with all of its bells and whistles) with the potential nicknames. Hearing each one from the list being voiced and edited into the mix live on the air was a hoot to hear. Because you don't just say the name. You have to try different ways of intonation and pacing. "...and Gay Boy...*cough*...and GAY Boy...and Gaaaay Booooy...GAy...gaYEh...gEeeeh-yah"

I think the voting fell how I've listed the names.

"RoadKill" hasn't really moved with me from radio. I've never had luck being able to use it as a username for any forums, boards, communities, or anything else online. It was created for a role on the show and with that show it will stay, I guess.

ETA - I have already thought of about a possible future nicknaming time - when I become a grandparent. I like the name "Grumpy." One day, I might be "Grumpy Berry." :)

* - God, doesn't radio have fun names! I'd love to be called Bumper, Spot, Liner, Dub, or any other radio jargon as a name! Well, I guess "POT" might be a hard one to have to explain all the time (short for "potentiometer" - basically it's the volume knob on a sound board). Selection of some of my fav radio nicknames of people I've met: Rick O'Shay, Gator, Scooter, Frank O. Pinion (actually, a hilarious host in St.Louis), Ian the Pion, Dingo, The Nighthawk, and Smokey Rivers.