I just have to laugh. Ivan, and I were watching a relative of his on FB, name unnecessary, and, Ivan was talking about different things they had done as younger men. I saw his picture on FB, and I thought, I know that guy- when he was younger. But, that was not his name. I am sure that his name was not Eddie.
Actually, Eddie could have been his name, but, it was a name I could not associate with his face. Why? Because there is not a Mexican kid, in the US, that goes by their given name. In fact, I did not know my in-laws real names for years.
Let me show you what I mean.
Edmundo was Mundo (pretty close). Ivan was Néne (not anywhere close). Yolanda- Chacha (What)? Gloria- Kiki (cannot help you, not even a little), Reynaldo- Bebon- (not going to try), Miriam- (Maráya), Maria- (Mayra Galla, my favorite. Ivan was the only one to call her that), Moises- Mo (easiest to figure out, except Ivan called him Mandamientos), and last, Rodrigo – Rog.
It was years, seriously, before I knew that Chacha was really Yolanda, or, even harder, Kiki, was really Gloria.
So, tonight, Ivan was looking at some FB posts, and I saw who he was checking out and I said “I know him. Who is he?”. Well, I could clearly see that he was Eddie, but he did not look like Eddie. This guy looked like Kino, not Eddie. I said as much and Ivan said that it was indeed Kino.
Well, for crying out loud. Do you not think, that after fifty years together, I could get some sort of syllabus that could tell me who the heck we grew up with as such and such, and what their real names are? Please? There are so many family members that I knew only as their nicknames, and never their family names, that I would enjoy being with, by means of FB, but did not know their real names.
Actually, it makes me chuckle, because, I, for one, only had a nickname as far as my dad was concerned. No one else ever called me anything but Diana, or Di, except Dad. He always called me DiddleyDi. It makes my heart swell, just typing the name. It made me his, and no one else’s.
Not until you know who came along, that is. We all know what happened after I met him! So, while you contemplate all of what came after that, stay happy, stay healthy, stay safe. Wash your hands, cover your mouth, protect your loved ones.