22 Comments
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Patrick's avatar

I never knew about Buzzy - so that didn't have too much sticking power, I guess...

Funnily enough, my father, whose name was Gordon, was always known as Bob. When your surname is Burns that tends to happen - so one possibility might be to invent a romantic Scottish past and stick with what you've got? (Feel free to borrow Gordon as a real name to fill in the back story...)

Signed: Pidge (since I was six years old. No idea where it came from and still in use among old friends and family.)

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Robert  Basler's avatar

Thanks, Pidge!

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Nathan's avatar

How ‘bout Robert the Mollified?

I know a rescue dog who would approve.

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Danny Cameron's avatar

If I switch from BAAZ, actually the only thing that I have heard is BASS, to BAHZ, I don't think any of my friends will know who I am talking about. So I might as well switch to BUZZY.

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Bjorn Edlund's avatar

Lovely. Who would have remembered Ivan the Reasonable or Catherine the Average? Buzzy :-)

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John C Abell's avatar

Not even close to the greatest story ever told

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Robert  Basler's avatar

A good point, sir. And who would buy a novel called "The Average Gatsby?"

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Bjorn Edlund's avatar

Or Middling Expectations

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Sandy Read Reiberg's avatar

Sobriquet made reading this totally worth every word.

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Robert  Basler's avatar

thank you, Sandy.

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Johanna Gabbett Klesh's avatar

Loved this story! That editor you shared and with in Hong Kong sounds very familiar to me! I had a family nickname, and as a child, when I heard my proper name, I knew I was in trouble!

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Robert  Basler's avatar

you probably liked the Dylan song...

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Julie Waxgiser's avatar

I was about to make fun of you for the word “alright,” which is not a word, until I looked it up on the Merriam-Webster site. It says that the word can be found in fictional dialogue and informal writing. So, yeah, I guess you can have that as a nickname. You could also be called Y’all Basler, Ain’t Basler, Gonna’ Basler, or Wanna’ Basler if you want to go that route.

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Robert  Basler's avatar

That hurts, Julie. Hurts. I thought my subhead, using sobriquet, would buy me some patience from the Word Police...

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Julie Waxgiser's avatar

I did like both the “Alas-Alias” and the use of “Sobriquet.” Apologies for such negativity on my part. Next time, I will write a haiku.

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Robert  Basler's avatar

Haiku? That's one of those five-line poems that start out, "There once was a hermit named Dave?"

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Julie Waxgiser's avatar

Subtract the Irish, carry the Japanese, and we are in business.

There was a man: Dave

Actual name was David

Dave was a nickname

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Rita Jane Gabbett's avatar

OK. Maybe that happened and maybe it didn't. OK. It did. And maybe I did push old Prince Charles into the garbage can, but I looked first and there were plenty of sheets of wire service copy to break his fall. In my defense, Buzzy once stole the pizza I ordered for lunch.

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Robert  Basler's avatar

Fake news. I have plenty of witnesses who saw me not steal that pizza and not eat it....

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Kelli Garza's avatar

Unfortunately, for you…I have always thought of you as “Berb”. Berb and Barb. I apologize. My sense of humor is adolescent, at best.

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John C Abell's avatar

Nice piece, Prince Adobe!

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Robert  Basler's avatar

A perfect response, John. Now, my office. Bring your badge and gun...

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