Button

Nicknames.  I used to remember wanting a nickname when I was a kid.  It seemed like a way other people said that you were so great, you earned a name that described you as a person better than the mere label your parents selected from some baby book.  Speaking of baby names, why is that book parents refer to  not just called human names?  You don't stay a baby very long, and yet, the names are only for babies.

When we named our first daughter Alyssa it was not very popular, therefore nobody could pronounce it.  That was alright with us because it was how we could easily identify our friends.  Kind of like the guy that calls your house looking for someone with a name that is almost pronounced like what he said, but just off enough to identify him as a salesperson.  Sorry about that. None of this really goes with the story you are about to read.

Nicknames.  I used to remember wanting a nickname when I was a kid. Actually, I do remember it. If I used to remember it, then that means I forgot it.

Nicknames.  I always thought they were better when given by a friend than if you try to give yourself a nickname. Unless you don't like it.

A missions trip to Uganda.  My name translates to Dawidi (da-weedy) in Lugandan. Lugandan is the name of the language spoken in the Kingdom of Buganda in Uganda, Africa.  Thats right. The country of Uganda had to name a Kingdom.  Lets see...how about Buganda? What about this language we speak?  Lugandan. Perfect!  So Dawidi also means David the King in the Bible. Cabaca (ka-ba-ka) is the name for King.  So the kind people of Buganda called me Cabaca Dawidi, much to my pleasure and chagrin of the rest of the team.  I was okay with the name.  Not as an egocentric thing, but as a term of endearment these kind people wished to bestow on me.  I will admit it caught on a bit.  Our team began to call me Dawidi, without the King part.  So here we are in Africa and I have earned a nickname. Well, sort of.  Can a translation of your name actually be a nickname?

One day a friend on our team finds an interesting treasure on the ground.  It was a button from my pants.  It fell off and I was casually trying to find it without making a big deal that I lost the button from my pants.  As he picks it up, he offers it to me with the one word in the form of a question as if asking me if this is what I was looking for.  "Button?"  

Imagine yourself nearby, but not in the game.  You did not know I was looking for anything. You did not see our friend pick something off the ground.  Suddenly you are in the game as you hear him approach me and say "Button?"  A bit odd for a nickname from a guy, but how sweet that he calls you "button."  Chagrin and pleasure now have changed places. And that is how I earned my new nickname in Africa.