A Boy Called “Puke”
Posted: Wednesday, June 18, 2008
by Joel Hendon
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I grew up in the hills about seven miles from a small town. However, it was in one county and we lived across the line in another. This being the case, we considered the closer town our "hometown", yet we were bussed about twenty miles to the seat of our county to attend high school. We were close enough to our small town to know a number of people there, even had relatives who lived there.
So I had a friend who owned an Economy Auto Associate Store and was in need of a clerk, so he took me in, understanding that I might be called up anytime. In the course of several months, I met an enormous amount of locals as they came in for auto accessories , household goods, etc. During this time there were several young kids, maybe 10 to 12 years of age who were in and out for bicycle parts, etc. They were good kids, and one seemed to be more assertive and talked a lot more than the others. He almost seemed cocky and overly sure of himself, although a good kid anyway. I never learned their names. But one day this one kid came in alone and my employer greeted him with a ,"Hello Puke, what could I help you with?"
After he left the store I asked my friend, what he called the boy? The then told me he called him "Puke" and explained that everyone did and that he did not know what his proper name was. It was the first time I had met anyone called that repulsive word, and thankfully I have not run into any other. I have found a couple who were called worse things, some I would not repeat.
I learned that some of the kids were disrespectful to him and made fun of him. I could never figure out why. He seemed decent and the only thing I could detect that might be undesirable about him was his slight know-it-all attitude. And the more I was around him, the more I realized that he actually did know more than the average kid, especially things of a higher educational level than they were. They would pick at him and tell him he didn't know what he was talking about. I also learned that even some of his teachers felt he was a little off in the brain department. I could not detect any such but then, it was not my affair. It was long about this time when Uncle Sam sent my letter of Greeting!
When my tour was nearly over and I had a weekend attached to a three-day pass, I flew to Atlanta and took a passenger train on home. Then when it was time to return, I was sitting in a café near the train station, drinking a cup of coffee when in comes the boy named Puke. Now looking about 14 or 15 years old I guess.
"Hi, Mr. Joel, it's good to see you. I didn't even know you were in the Army."
"Hey, friend, come on over and have a coke on me while I'm waiting for the train."
After he was seated and had his coke delivered to him, I asked him plainly, "Why do they call you Puke?"
He gave a slight smile and said, "Well, my real name is Euclid and I never liked it. The other kids made fun of it and started calling me ‘Puclid' until it just kindly got shortened up to Puke."
So, I thought, that is the answer. But it still didn't explain why they seemed to make fun of him, but I didn't ask that. I did ask him if he minded if I just called him Euclid and he said not at all.
As we talked, he asked me what my job was in the Army and I replied that the title of my job probably would not mean much to him but it was "Intelligence Aircraft Plotter". To which he blurted out, "Sure I know what that is!" and he began to explain it in detail. I thought that this kid must read an awful lot and asked him so, to which he replied that he did and especially concerning military matters. He said that he planned to make the military a career when he finished school.
I was home to stay in a few more months and I only ran into him once or twice that I remember. But I did learn that he attended college and joined the local National Guard unit while in college.
I also heard, (unverified) that he made the highest score on the general entrance exam, that had ever been made since the local unit was formed. I learned later that he was in the Regular Army and had attained the grade of Captain.
I don't know what eventually became of Euclid, after he entered the Army. I'm pretty sure that he retired from the military but I heard in later years that he had died. I've never been able to find out if he was still in service or not, or if his death had anything to do with his military service.
But I am glad that I knew him and I feel bad that some thought he was sort of stupid. Actually, he may have had the highest IQ of anyone I was ever acquainted with. And I'm glad I never called him "Puke".
Not too many years ago, shortly before I was retired, I worked in a large facility and a very young man worked in the same department. When I was placed into that department, I was dismayed and even somewhat disgusted to find that just about the entire department called him T--d. And they would call him across the department…loud, and there were ladies working in the department. I went over to him and asked him what his real name was and what he wanted to be called. He told me his name was Randy but I could call him T--d if I wanted to. I told him, no, I'll call you Randy.
No one enjoys a good laugh more than I. But to call someone a repulsive or vulgar name in mixed company is something to which I never became accustomed. I appreciate people such as Randy or Euclid who are sport enough to take such with kindness and no ill will.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)hi joel, this story had so many great things going for it; it was well written, it was a story about days younger people don't get a chance to hear about, it was funny, it was poignant, and it was you! i enjoyed it very much. but i have to tell you-i don't have a clue what t--d refers to. don't need to , though. i get the point. thanks for a great article, my best regards, sueWell, I was afraid of that but I just couldn't make myself write it. It is a slang word for a piece of feces!! Thanks for your comments and kind words. I was very hesitant to write this because it contains those references to nauseating words. But even though I disapproved of them, I could not help but get a wicked smile from them.. When you work around a bunch of guys, you can hear unbelievable remarks sometimes. Thanks again.got it! my best, sue
Hi Joel, what a treat it was to get a little insight to your days as a youth. What a respectable young man you were. It did take a few minutes for me to figure out what t--d meant, to my shame I didn't take long at all. Thanks for sharing this story and for being one who broke the mold. BLessings to you! TeresaThanks for the complimentary remarks, Teresa. I wasn't really trying to show my actions concerning the episode...I mainly meant to show that lot's of kids are mistaken as somewhat nutty when they have an abnormal amount of smarts. Euclid was a perfect example. I think back now and I am sure that his rather assetive attitude came from a slight feeling of inferiority. And that when he was no doubt the kid in the crowd with the highest mentality. My encounters with him were few and far between, but I learned to respect him very highly. The pitiful part is, I think, that if any of his young cohorts are still alive, they probably think back on him as a nut!!
Very compelling, and unfortunately quite true... Some people show their ignorance by calling others names... They never stop to think, not even for a moment, what these name callings can do to hurt that persons feelings... They think it's cute, but it's not....Good work Joel.Thanks Janice, and I agree. I could never understand anyone calling someone a really cruddy nickname and still professto be their friend. I guess my parents were considered old fashioned even back in the thirties, but my mother always had a way of making me feel really bad when I said anything ugly, especially at anyone. Whenever I'd do anything bad in most any way, she'd always ask, "what will people think of you?" and it actually got to me. I was fearful that others might think I was a bad kid, and I tried not to be. I recall once when I was in the 6th grade, many of my cohorts cursed and used vulgarity pretty bad. So I began to participate in it also, knowing full well that I could never do it at home. But a wonderful lady teacher of mine got wind of our carrying on and she lined 7 of us up in front of the class and made each of us hold out our right hand while she blistered our palm with six whacks with a 1 foot wooden rule. She also told us that such language was only used by those who were so lacking in vocabulary that they could not express themselve well in any other way. I took her at her word, besides, that wooden rule really did smart. So, I stopped that as of that day. Thanks for the comments.
Good article Joel. A little respect means a lot to someone like Euclid or Randy. Euclid is a tough moniker for a parent to hang on a kid. If the other kids are decent, they offer up a nickname like Junior or Yuke. But kids can be ruthless. It would be hard to build much self esteem with Puke for a nickname but it sounds like your friend did it.Thanks for reading and commenting Steve. Yes, I can recall when I was just barely school age, I was a very small child and some of the kids started calling me "chigger". But I never did take offense to it, I just thought they were kidding around and I guess they were. But to call someone the names Euclid and Randy had to endure in public, is asking a little too much. Fortunately, when I reached about 11 or 12 years old, I took a surge of growth and reached my full adult size in about 2 years. Not that I was large then (5'7" and 135 lbs) but I was larger than some of the ones who called me "chigger", so the nickname was dropped.
I love hearing stories like this. These are the stories worth telling, the ones with a message. Yours also gave me a glimpse of the past, which is one thing that always seems to catch my eye. It sounds like you were and still are a very upstanding person with a compassionate heart. Thanks for writing........
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