Jockey and Skinny

When I was in 1st grade I had a hat that was a jockey’s cap. It was made of a silky material, had a red bill, and had alternating red and white sections around the cap. I thought it was really great and I wore it every where. However, it created a conflict between me and Mr Hetrick, my first grade teacher. I wore the hat to school and Mr Hetrick started to call me Jockey. Well that was ok for a time or two, but I really didn’t want the kids in the school to pick up the nickname and start calling me Jockey.

I didn’t know what to do about it so I complained to mom about what he was doing. She thought a while and came up with the solution. You see, Mr Hetrick had a nickname that people had hung on him. People referred to him as Skinny Hetrick. Mom said that the next time he called me Jockey I should say “ok Skinny.” I wasn’t sure what would happen, but it worked and he never called me Jockey again.