Apr 9, 2015

H is for Hambone




The best nick-names can’t be chosen or picked…they have to evolve naturally.

With a last name of Hammons it didn’t take long before kids started calling me Hambone. I’m from a military family and we moved around frequently, so there usually wasn’t enough time for my nickname to morph into anything else…so for most of my adolescent years that’s what I was called…Hambone.

When I made it to college it didn’t take long for Hambone to emerge again and I settled in with it. But after a year or two it changed…or should I say it shortened…to just Bone.

One day I was walking in a field near the house my family lived in while I attended college and came across the bone in the picture above. It became my symbol and found its way to the mantle in my apartment – solidifying my nickname for the next ten years.

When we moved to Arkansas, my nickname didn’t move with me. I was in my mid-thirties by then and nicknames just didn’t seem appropriate anymore.

But the best nicknames don’t die…they get inherited. Yep…my oldest son’s nickname? Bone. I’ve passed the baton onto him as well. He proudly displays the bone on his mantle now.  :)

16 comments:

  1. Annalisa CrawfordApril 9, 2015 at 6:49 AM

    Lots of Bones in your house then :-)

    I had a couple of nicknames growing up - Olive (after Olive Oyl - no idea why though) and Mona (Annalisa -> MonaLisa)

    Annalisa, writing A-Z vignettes, at Wake Up, Eat, Write, Sleep

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  2. Alex J. CavanaughApril 9, 2015 at 7:05 AM

    Good thing he likes that nickname.
    I didn't really have one. I'd hoped someone would call me Alexander the Great, but it never happened.

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  3. i b aroraApril 9, 2015 at 7:21 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. i b aroraApril 9, 2015 at 7:22 AM

    It is interesting, true or fiction?

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  5. Tiana SmithApril 9, 2015 at 8:42 AM

    I was wondering where the whole T-Bone thing came from, but why the T? :) In high school, people just called me T. I guess there aren't that many nicknames for Tiana...

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  6. Chrys FeyApril 9, 2015 at 9:03 AM

    Hambone is an interesting nickname. Bone is cool, though. Can I start calling you Bone from now on? ;)

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  7. Wendy of the RockApril 9, 2015 at 10:07 AM

    Nicknames are so often a guy thing... But I like that you're so happy to own yours

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  8. Margaret and MerissaApril 9, 2015 at 12:02 PM

    At least it hasn't evolved into Boner?

    My daughter is nicknamed Woo, which is short for Woowoo, which came about because when her little brother started talking he couldn't say her name so he just called her Woowoo, and it stuck. She's almost 18 and I still call her Woo.

    ~Margaret

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  9. farawayeyesApril 9, 2015 at 12:04 PM

    Always interesting how nicknames come about and evolve.

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  10. Hilary Melton-ButcherApril 9, 2015 at 12:37 PM

    Hi Don .. Hambones .. that's great .. I got called Hamb .. for my initials after marriage .. fortunately it didn't get taken up - the family nickname remains as is .. it's Hils, or Hilly .. or Hilly Billy on occasions .. it's great your son has taken the bone and the name with him!! Cheers Hilary

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  11. LD MastersonApril 9, 2015 at 12:50 PM

    I'm guessing neither you nor your son have a dog that could reach the mantle.

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  12. UnknownApril 9, 2015 at 5:13 PM

    Good one. In elementary school I was teased a lot and called Evil Eva Keneavil, or whatever his name was, and in middle school I was christened Acorn. Don't even ask because to this day, I still have no clue why. Hugs. Eva

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  13. TrishaApril 9, 2015 at 9:08 PM

    Strange, I never would have thought to call you Hambone because of your surname :P Guess I'm a weirdo that way!

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  14. BushmanApril 10, 2015 at 8:05 AM

    With the last name of Bushman I had a variety of nicknames. Some not so good.
    Bushman
    2015 A to Z Challenge Ambassador
    @jwb81074

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  15. Bish DenhamApril 10, 2015 at 10:09 AM

    I like the whole story of the evolution of Hambone to Bone. With a name like Bish, I've had my fair share of variations!

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  16. cleemckenzieApril 10, 2015 at 2:33 PM

    I think it's great to have a family nickname! I'll bet there's a Hambone Jr. or maybe a Hambone III in the future.

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