Today I had one of those moments that jump out and want to scream at you. (In retrospect, I think some aspect of my dear deceased brother was having fun with me...)

An epiphony, if you will.

I always wondered why, since I was a little boy, (and kept asking the question and never getting an adequate response), my brother apparently had a nickname when he was young; that of "Punk"!

It was a well-known family fact, mentioned many times as I grew up, but no one seemed to remember why their son had this nickname, which today would probably be considered derogatory, but in the 1940s was probably not. (?)

It came to me today that Peter's reading and language skills developed very early, reportedly reading (and going to the library on his own) at age 4.

Yet, if you think of underdeveloped vocal apparatus in the very young, "pumpkin" would probably be pronounced " punkin'".

What might a boy named Peter have as a favored Nursery Rhyme?

Peter, Peter! Punkin' Eater!

It might then be natural for his parents to call him Punk.

What do you think?