Being an aircraft mechanic requires a lot of skills. One skill that is often overlooked is the ability to take some good natured ribbing from your co-workers. Often times this ribbing turns into something permanent in the form of a nickname. I have worked with plenty of guys and gals over the years who have had a lot of different nick names. My nickname is Goathead which over the years has been shortened to just Goat.
When I first got this glorious job we had a Lead Mechanic from Louisiana here. When we got to work you would check the board (where the work was written, a white dry erase board), put your name next to the a/c you wanted to work and go to it. Well we also carry radios and use them for most of our communications. As the nigh progressed the Cajun Lead would call me on the radio:
"Wayne, Copy!"
To which I would reply:
"Yeah, Go-ahead!"
After I was done with my work I came back into the office and my name was changed on the board from Wayne to "Goathead". I asked the lead what was up and he said "Everytime I call you on the radio, you call me a Goathead so I changed your name to Goathead."
I guess being from New York I have a slight accent and when I responded with "Go-ahead" it sounds like "Goathead." I have been Goathead ever since.
We also have here at OAK a Tuna-can or Tuna, Moose, Trees (loves nature), Bug or Bug-a-Lug, Cricket (dude makes cricket noises while he works), Tator Tot, Wu-Tang, No-Do or (7-11) or Joe Patronie, Dizzel, Tito, Chicken Neck, McGallon, Wabo, Howdy, G2, Larry-Love, Smitty, Big D, Zeus, Bago, Kit, B2, Ho-ta-Ho-ta, Scuba, J-Bird, Dark Cloud, Wee-wee, Nerf, and Napoleon. Of course those are the nice nicknames, we won't mention the bad ones here.
I have also worked with: Luke-Skywalker or Skywalker, The Devil, Duke, Preacher, Tator, Bubba, Hayseed, Skippy, MT, Angry or SGT, Psy-cole, Trooper, and those are just the ones I can remember off the top of my head.
Long and short of it is if you are privileged enough to receive one of these cherished nicknames it may start off as a slight or ribbing but it is an industry standard. When your fellow mechanics bestow one upon you you should be honored that you are carrying on a long tradition in our industry. I wonder what Charley Taylor's nickname was, Lefty, Righty, Greasy, Flip, Chuck...?
No comments:
Post a Comment