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Legacies
A Thursday Prompt story
© 2023 by Walter Reimer
Prompt: nickname
During a career working at a county jail, you might find yourself earning a name from the inmates.
Yes, from the inmates. Nicknames acquired from coworkers don’t usually last as long as the ones you get applied to you from the clientele. I shall cite a few examples.
Deputy G______,* who worked for us back in the late 1980s, had standard 80’s big hair, parted down the middle, and a unibrow – one eyebrow, like a dark line, extending over both eyes. Naturally, the inmates called him Eddie Munster. He hated it, which made the inmates call him that exclusively.
He really hated it when his coworkers started calling him that.
Another deputy, Deputy J______, was a tall guy with a portly build and a boyish face. One older inmate called him Baby Huey, and it stuck to Deputy J______ like gum.
I’ll give you a third example. Deputy S_____ was nicknamed Robocop because he walked around like his spine was a solid steel bar. He was also blond and had blue eyes, so I guess that Robocop was actually pretty benign.
Me? Yes, I had a nickname, and no, it wasn’t Pacmf. Pacmf (or PACMF) stands for Pussy-Ass Cracker Mother Fucker, and I would correct the inmates who used it. I told them that I was from New Jersey, and therefore a Yankee, and not a Cracker. For some reason, that seemed to irritate them somewhat. Being called a motherfucker didn’t bother me either, as I had dated a woman who had six children by her previous marriage. Work it out.
When I finally learned my nickname, I confess that I was disappointed. By-the-Book doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as other nicknames, but it was true and descriptive, and I thought that it could have been worse.
I asked one of the inmates why that label was applied, and he told me, in confidence, that I knew the rules and applied them impartially. This implied that others did not, which I knew.
One nickname applied to all deputies was Boss. To this day I feel myself tensing up when I hear someone hail me with that word.
That doesn’t apply to any of you, by the way.
End
*(The names are blanked, because we must have some secrets)
A Thursday Prompt story
© 2023 by Walter Reimer
Prompt: nickname
During a career working at a county jail, you might find yourself earning a name from the inmates.
Yes, from the inmates. Nicknames acquired from coworkers don’t usually last as long as the ones you get applied to you from the clientele. I shall cite a few examples.
Deputy G______,* who worked for us back in the late 1980s, had standard 80’s big hair, parted down the middle, and a unibrow – one eyebrow, like a dark line, extending over both eyes. Naturally, the inmates called him Eddie Munster. He hated it, which made the inmates call him that exclusively.
He really hated it when his coworkers started calling him that.
Another deputy, Deputy J______, was a tall guy with a portly build and a boyish face. One older inmate called him Baby Huey, and it stuck to Deputy J______ like gum.
I’ll give you a third example. Deputy S_____ was nicknamed Robocop because he walked around like his spine was a solid steel bar. He was also blond and had blue eyes, so I guess that Robocop was actually pretty benign.
Me? Yes, I had a nickname, and no, it wasn’t Pacmf. Pacmf (or PACMF) stands for Pussy-Ass Cracker Mother Fucker, and I would correct the inmates who used it. I told them that I was from New Jersey, and therefore a Yankee, and not a Cracker. For some reason, that seemed to irritate them somewhat. Being called a motherfucker didn’t bother me either, as I had dated a woman who had six children by her previous marriage. Work it out.
When I finally learned my nickname, I confess that I was disappointed. By-the-Book doesn’t roll off the tongue as well as other nicknames, but it was true and descriptive, and I thought that it could have been worse.
I asked one of the inmates why that label was applied, and he told me, in confidence, that I knew the rules and applied them impartially. This implied that others did not, which I knew.
One nickname applied to all deputies was Boss. To this day I feel myself tensing up when I hear someone hail me with that word.
That doesn’t apply to any of you, by the way.
End
*(The names are blanked, because we must have some secrets)
Category Story / Human
Species Human
Size 120 x 92px
File Size 44.8 kB
Listed in Folders
Absolutely not. I'm usually awake hours before the Prompt is revealed, so I can jump right on it. Today, however, I had a doctor's appointment and a long list of things to do afterward. I know people tend to expect me to be the first, but I don't mind if someone else posts first.
I've an uncle that is retired law enforcement and one of his favorite stories to share is how an inmate named him an ordained minister in the state of California. This same uncle has never been to California.
Reminds me of all his wacky and, at times, unbelievable stories, much enjoyed.
Reminds me of all his wacky and, at times, unbelievable stories, much enjoyed.
That nickname isn't even a back-handed compliment, it's a straight one by itself. I've just finished a book about US Navy aviators, all those cool callsigns you see in Top Gun etc? The real thing...not so much...
As far as I know I never had a nickname, which is a pretty big caveat.
As far as I know I never had a nickname, which is a pretty big caveat.
Dang, this was slick and so tightly done. :O
I don't usually like first person prose but this was really well executed.
I'm also big on anything cop or police related. (my father was a police officer in New Orleans during this time) Tho I didn't know who Eddie Munster was and had to look them up (THOSE BROWS!) :P I'd never ever heard of the Munsters show either.
What a fun read~ Thank you for sharing
I don't usually like first person prose but this was really well executed.
I'm also big on anything cop or police related. (my father was a police officer in New Orleans during this time) Tho I didn't know who Eddie Munster was and had to look them up (THOSE BROWS!) :P I'd never ever heard of the Munsters show either.
What a fun read~ Thank you for sharing
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