Have you ever really thought about your name?

Not in a “that-which-we-call-a-rose” type of way and
not about who you may be named after –
but what you’re called
and by who.

It’s funny how names stay the same but what we answer to changes?
The nicknames, labels and terms of endearments we recognize are snapshots of who we were and a reminder of the people who made us what we are.

“Notter” means someone from 234 Broadway in Eau Claire, Wisconsin is calling.
“Dan-O” isn’t an homage to Hawaii 5-0, it was Grandma Nott asking me if I wanted to go to the dime store and pick out a comic book.
“Dantana” = my dear friend and mentor is close by.
“Daniel Joseph” always meant big trouble with Mom.
“Asshole” … “Coach”… “Mr. Nott”…

“Dad”

Each one makes me turn my head.
Each one describes a piece of my heart.
Each one is an old love letter in hidden away in a beat-up Air Jordan shoebox.

It goes the other way too…

Calling out for L Ray or Pumpis or Marietta or Mack Daddy or Joyful or Big Country is like a signal from a lighthouse, a reminder from the past that the connection is alive and well in the present.

Who is calling you?
Will you answer?

Make no15e.