#124 Sam or Buddy

To fully appreciate this story you have to know Jack. He takes things pretty literally. Well, not things as much as names. I have never been able to get away with saying, "Sorry, Charlie," without a rebuke from Jack. I can't call him "Buddy" or "Kid" without him retorting emphatically, "No, I'm Thack!" (speech impeded version of Jack).  He likes to be called by his name, no terms of endearment for this kid.

So when he climbed up next to me and said to his little brother, "Hi, Sammy. Hi, Buddy!" you can imagine my surprise. And then he said to me through a giggle, "I said, 'Buddy.' Wait. Is his name Buddy or Sam?"

I said, "Both. You can call him Buddy or Sam," thinking I was on the verge of a breakthrough.

He began stroking Sam's head and said in his sweetest baby voice, "Hi Both! Hi-i-i!" He then made a disgusted face and said, "No. It's Sam. I don't like Both," and then scurried off as fast as he had come, leaving laughter in his wake. Nope. No breakthrough.