“Big Bad John”

This year a dear friend called John a Saint in front of a small group of other friends. Now at first, I took that personally, thinking he was commenting on John’s living circumstances. Meaning he is a saint for living with me!! Now I knew that was not right as this man genuinely likes me.

Next, I thought hahahahaha. This dear friend just does not know John that well. We have so much fun together. He is a good, kind man, but he is no saint!

I remembered how this friend said I have been so helpful in his spiritual journey. He said, “One time you talked about how we don’t have to like everyone, we just must love everyone! Much easier said than done.”

It embarrassed me when he said that I was the most helpful person in his spiritual journey, as I do not see myself that way! Time to move along.

John listens to old country music exclusively. Which means we hear the Big Bad John song playing occasionally. He has the big bad John tag from when he was younger and doing some bodybuilding. He still lifts weights six days a week, but it is nothing like he used to lift.

He got into more than his share of fights when he was younger also. His neighbors put a sign in their yard saying, “Everyone welcome except the Lindquist Brothers.” There are no more signs like that in the neighborhood. We are back in that same neighborhood, with many of the same people.

As we noticed deer in the field the other day, John mentioned how he had the name sure shot John. I simply reminded him of how the only deer he got this year was with his new car. $7,000 expense. After the insurance, he paid $500. deductible.

Then I asked as we were going to the car, are you sure that was not sure-footed John? He said, “Yes, they called me that too!” as he negotiated his way through the snow and ice to the truck. I was just imagining all of the stories this guy once told.

Monkey and Big Ape are what his only sister calls him. A side note: she is a minister. How many ministers do you know that call their family members a monkey or an ape? Unless that is what they are, right?

She is not the only one. By the time our grandchildren reach age two, he has them calling others monkeys, including their grandma. And then they laugh with him. It is not long before he turns on them and calls them monkeys.

Then, it does not take long before they realize he is the monkey. That is when they laugh with me.

Our 8- and 9-year-old grandchildren were here last weekend, and he put a picture of a monkey in front of the 9-year-old’s school picture. Just that quick the 9-year-old moved it in front of the 8-year-olds picture and back and forth it went, until they were both hollering, “Grandpa is the monkey!”

Growing up his grandma called him “Yawny”, which is Johnny with a Swedish accent. He talked about that with feeling. I believe he cared for his grandma and liked how she pronounced his name. His uncles called him something like “Yousee” and his uncle was Finnish and Russian.

We may or may not find out where this ‘Yousee’ comes from before his one living uncle dies.

I first heard about this nickname for guys living in Bena from my mother as a young girl. She told my sister and me that she wanted us to stay away from the Bena boys. Hubby was a Bena boy. Another nickname. We stayed away until I was 46. I married him at age 50.

My sister married a man from New Mexico. My mother forgave me and said that she could see that he made me happy and that is all she wanted for any of her children.

So to recap. John has several nicknames beginning with Yawny, Yousee, Monkey/Ape, Lindquist Brothers, Bena Boy, Sure-footed, Sure-shot, Big Bad John, and St. John. I have called him cutie bug, and his nickname for me — is SP (sweetie pie/slowpoke — depending on the circumstances)

I know there are more. That is enough for today.

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First published by Bad Form in Medium.com