My father, who loved nicknames, had his own as well. His sister and other family members on my mother’s side called him Tommy. Where did that come from? No one seems to know. His name was Henry Bernard but what he really liked being called was Big Hank.
He also liked the idea of being called Big Daddy, and I remember that a few times he called our mom Big Mama, right out of a Tennessee Williams play. In fact, Tennessee Williams’ characters were uncannily like our family, especially Stanley Kowalski.
As a kid I watched a lot of movies. I loved Cat on a Hot Tin Roof because Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor were such hot tickets in that movie!
But A Streetcar Named Desire often went over my head. I understood Stanley Kowalski well enough, but Blanche DuBois took me years to figure out because her story paralleled my mother’s to some degree and it is written with a lot of metaphors as well. It was too close to home.
He also liked the idea of being called Big Daddy, and I remember that a few times he called our mom Big Mama, right out of a Tennessee Williams play. In fact, Tennessee Williams’ characters were uncannily like our family, especially Stanley Kowalski.
As a kid I watched a lot of movies. I loved Cat on a Hot Tin Roof because Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor were such hot tickets in that movie!
But A Streetcar Named Desire often went over my head. I understood Stanley Kowalski well enough, but Blanche DuBois took me years to figure out because her story paralleled my mother’s to some degree and it is written with a lot of metaphors as well. It was too close to home.