In the little over a week since we said goodbye to Binky, we’ve been looking at a lot of photos. Sharing more than usual. (Even outside of this blog.)
This morning, I shared a photo of Binky and Wingnut from a couple of months after we adopted them. This photo, specifically.
Despite how things look in that picture, Wingnut really was small there. You can’t tell unless you look at his head. His head is so tiny! At least compared to the rest of him.
Anyway, someone asked about his name. So this is the story of how Wingnut got his name.
The first photo we ever took of the two of them? The very first night we had them? His name was Barney. I don’t honestly remember if he came named Barney or if we just picked Barney out of a hat.
Binky (formerly Elvis) took to his new name easily. It might have taken him two or three days tops? Honestly, I think he would have answered to anything simply because he was so happy to have a home.
But the kitten? He vexed us for at least two months. He just never seemed to learn his name. We’d call it out and he’d totally ignore us. “Barney? Barney? Hey, Barney!”
Nothing.
So we tried another name. I don’t remember what it was. Neither does John. All I know is that we went through at least three or four names, and he didn’t seem to like any of them.
Until one day, we were in the bedroom and Wingnut was lying on the window ledge. We tried his latest name, and he didn’t react. And then John said something very close to, “You’re such a little Wingnut.”
And he looked at us.
“Really? You want to be called Wingnut?”
An ear twitch.
Okay, then. Wingnut it is.
To be fair, when he was little, his ears were really really big. Like way bigger than his head. So he kind of looked like a Wingnut too. And that’s been his name ever since.