What is in a Name?

Throughout our lives, people call us many names. Some are from people that are angry with us. Some names are from people that love us. Some names are from people trying to be funny. Some names are from people trying to be hurtful. Some names we find funny and others we do not. People with weight issues are not the only people that endure a deluge of name-calling. My best friend from my childhood endured many names and did so with a smile, but down deep, I know he was hurting. I know this, because I was hurting with him. He was not heavy, but a great young man of color. When you have weight issues or find yourself in a minority situation, you really learn how cruel the world can be. I, like my best friend have always tried to face it with a positive attitude. One cannot let the world bring you down, not for one minute.

Recently, a 500-pound man greeted me with, “What’s up Big Man”. A woman pushing 300-pounds greeted me with, “How’s it going Big Guy”. Oddly, both of these individuals weighed at least as much and probably more than I do. Here are a few of the names used on my behalf in the past year. Many are entertaining and I realize that the person is just trying to be funny. Names I do not answer to, but occasionally hear, Michelin man, Pillsbury doughboy, Stay-Puft marshmallow man. If you say, “sup’ Hoss”, do not expect an answer. If you meet me in public, one “hey” is sufficient. Repeating it with hey, hey, hey is just darn rude! Universally everyone knows what follows that phrase. Although it is clever and made me smile, as he walked away I thought, just a damn minute! I have a message for the elderly man at my gym. I enjoy our talks of JRR Tolkien. Yes, The Lord of The Rings trilogy is one of my favorite movies. However, continuing to refer to my weight loss endeavors as, “The Battle for Middle Girth”, while clever is wearing on me. I may have to accidentally hit the speed-up button on your treadmill and send you flying across the room.

A while back, a new neighbor moved into the home next to us. I believe she is a 50-something single woman/grandma. When she met me in the yard for the first time, she looked at me and made the following statement. “OMG, you look just like Russell Crowe… only fatter!” I was not shocked. In fact, visions of Gladiator's danced through my head. Only the positive aspects of her comment registered.

My name is Todd. Many of my friends call me Hurls, Hurley or variations of Todd. My mother calls me Pat, Mike, Kev, Todd, as she likes taking inventory before getting on with her comment. Keeping with the timeless tradition of younger sibling abuse, my beautiful little sister bound by a promise to call me a required phrase. It starts with “Sir King Cool” and failure to address me properly will result in continued voodoo doll torture. :) I only know of one person that got offended by the name Todd. It was yearbook-signing day at the end of my junior year. She asked me to sign her book on a select page. I told her it was full and she pointed out that there was about a half-inch on each side of the page fold. I signed something nice and we exchanged books. We read what each other wrote and she said, “Todd you are an a-hole” and in her best speed-walk scooted down the hall. Calling out to her and chasing her down, “I responded I am sorry did I offend you”? Scolding me she replied, “No one is more conscientious of their body than I am. It is rude of you for making fun of my breasts by signing “TO”, “DD” in my yearbook. I asked if I could see what I wrote. She pointed to the end of my writing. I pointed out that she asked me to write on both sides of the page fold. My name is Todd and divided by the page fold. Todd divided = TO ][ DD. Red faced and smiling, she surprisingly hugged me and said, “All is forgiven, see you next year”. :)

"I get by with a little help from my friends."
- John Lennon