Robbie

 I read an article on line yesterday written by Robbie Couch.  The article itself was well written, but after seeing the author’s byline, all I could think of was the name, and my reaction was “Oh, you poor son of a bitch.”

When I entered first grade, my class already had three boys called Bobby and two Roberts.  At the teacher’s request, I became Robbie.  It was a name that I hated, and when we moved to Alvin ten years later, I told everyone my name was Robert.  Even so, it is a nickname I never entirely outgrew – my sister and a few of my very oldest friends still call me Rob. I find that I can live with that as an acceptable diminutive of Robert; at least it doesn’t have that prissy feminine ie on the end of it.

I haven’t found out much about the  Robbie that wrote the article – his Likedin profile shows that he is a 2011 graduate of Michigan State and currently an associate editor at the Huffington Post.  His Twitter account indicates that he may have left Huffington and writes for Upworthy, whatever that is.  It also seems to indicate that he is Gay, so Robbie might suit him just fine.

I have no idea how he feels about his name.  I hope he actually likes it, but either way, I wish him well.