code names
I was "Garbonzo bean"

My brother was "Matt the rat, the river cat, who combs his hair with chicken fat, and beats up girls with a baseball bat."

Later that was shortened to "The Boy Who Could Do No Wrong" when my father got a bit tired of mom playing favorites.

My first girlfriend was "Keli keli of the buckskin belly"

Thanks dad. Stop looking at her belly now, eh? ok.

Whatever they called us, they could never remember our names anyway.

Any conversation had a fair chance of starting "David, Alli, I mean Matt, Meg? I mean Fred, Irving? You - hey, whatever your name is - get me that screwdriver."

There was a smattering of names we'd recognize - brothers or sisters - and then Fred and Irving always made it to the list along the way.

We didn't know any Fred or Irving.

When we asked Mom who Fred and Irving were, we were told ominously, "They were your brothers... the ones who *didn't* do what they were told."

Thanks mum.

I'll just go over here and play with my naughty dead brothers.
( Allisade would love to hear from you, Fri 21 Nov 2008, 22:38, Reply)