Pomeroon Chips: Call Names

Call names in the Pomeroon. Most people have them. They are all descriptors of some sort, many of which aren't flattering. Examples? Blue, Brown man, Grey boy, Big head, Big Eye, Fat Boy, Juiceman, Dolly, Shinehead, Limpy, Chubby, Pumpkin, Fire, Dumpling, Big boots, Fowl Cock, Bus' Eye and Doctor. Some people have had their call names so long that friends only discover their real names on reading notice of their death in the newspaper.  It says something about the Guyanese habit of being blunt; of saying literally what one thinks or sees. I generally find it refreshing. But not always. Today I advised a young mother that she might want to reconsider the call name she had given her son. Ting. Yes Ting! I mean who calls their child Thing?!