52 Ancestors #6: The Favorite Names That Weren't

I don't know how old I was before I learned that my favorite names weren't really names at all. I always called my great grandparents AA and Al. They always signed holiday and birthday cards as A.A. and A.L. Even the adults called them AA and Al. In reality, they were Bessie Melissa and Arthur Linford. It seems that at a young age, my mom was trying to call Bessie "Lady" and it came out "AA" and stuck. I guess Arthur decided to play along, too. They used to bring us Cracker Jacks every time they visited! I wonder if that has anything to do with their "names" being my favorite?

My mother's parents went by nicknames, too. I always called them Mop and Pop. Seems my mom couldn’t say mother early on either, it came out as Mop. Her real name was Laura Emma.

I've been reminded that I had a way with names as well. The pickle fork became a tickle boon, the road-grader was a go-rater and the pot lids were hats. Who knew!

Photo: Bessie Melissa Olds (1885-1968) & Arthur Linford Fair (1885-1966), ca 1932, location unknown, photographer unknown, original in possession of the author.