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"nickname: a usually descriptive name given instead of or in addition to
the one belonging to a person: moniker, name aside... It is a person's name which identifies him
and through which others come to know him and his deeds. Nicknames may be
descriptive: Honest Abe, Gentleman John, The Swamp Fox, and Jack the Ripper. At
a any age names affect the way people see themselves, and sometimes how others
see them. Breakfast at Rainbow Springs
The hikers ambled around the store for a
while that morning, waiting for the proper time to depart. Dandy Lion and the
Pygmy Pony marched in to a warm reception. Dandy Lion is a repeat thru-hiker.
When not hiking, he juggles two jobs: one on ski patrol in Colorado, and another
helping to manage an outdoor shop. Once again he field tests the backpacking
gear so that he can make informed decisions on stocking equipment and offer
sound advice. Practical experience. Pygmy Pony is a
border collie and companion. Small and well-behaved, he follows closely behind
Dandy Lion never straying or wasting energy. Evidently he has learned to
backpack since it is no small feat to keep up with his master. Dandy Lion
consistently averages 2 1/2 to 3 1/4 miles per hour. He moves. These new
arrivals quickly became the center of attention. All exchanged information on
who was where, who was coming from behind, and how far ahead Ed Garvey was. Trail names are chosen or bestowed. Typically
those that are chosen make some sort of personal statement: the honeymooners,
Huff and Puff, the Florida Flyers. Those names that are bestowed also make a
statement: gadget, the trail store, PI(poison ivy), Slow Poke. Toward 11:00 am,
while most everyone was still eating and chatting, the Orlando boys came
strolling into the campground. Dandy Lion had alerted us to their approach. One
had chosen the name Prince Valiant; it would not stick. The three Orlando boys
were four at one time, but one had already dropped out. In fact each of them had
been seen sporadically on and off the trail over the past two weeks. It was
clear that they were having some disagreements. One always wanted to go, and he
was the first one up, first one out, and waiting on the others. Another, aka.
Prince Valiant, enjoyed camping, leisurely meals with coffee or tea, and little
hiking (I can still smell the pancakes they fixed that rainy morning in Plum
Orchard Shelter, and I can see the three of them arguing amongst themselves in
their pajamas and down booties in the Muskrat Creek shelter just past Bly Gap). The proprietors of the camp had heard of the
boys from Florida too, and did not like some of the remarks they left in the
registers as related to them by other hikers. It seems many people had passed
the Orlando Boys, both on and off the trail. At first the store owners thought
the Florida Flyers were the Orlando Boys, and they wasted no time in sharing
their displeasure. Scott, one of the Florida Flyers, set them straight
immediately, "Wrong people lady, you are talking about sock head and his
buddies." Sock Head, not a name chosen, but one bestowed. He always wore a
stocking cap over part of his punk hair cut. The conversation continued
enumerating the sins and transgressions of the Orlando Boys and Sock Head in
particular. Soon the Orlando Boys approached the steps
and unloaded their gear. The proprietor greeted P.V., "You must be Sock
Head." Prince Valiant was no more. It was the first time that he had been
confronted with his trail name. For awhile, he tried to disown it. The other
hikers were rolling with laughter. The laughter was genuine, deep, and gut
wrenching. It was a laugh that brings both a tear to the eye and a pain to the
side. Words cannot describe what Sock Head felt when confronted with how others
saw him. Hence it was to be, once and for always, "Sock Head." In that
instance P.V. and all his previous register entries that were so offensive were
no more. Peace,
Copyright
1991-2000, all rights reserved This
is a fictional account of an actual Thru-Hike in 1990. Any resemblance to
specific individuals or events is purely coincidental. By Gary Shealy
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