As a youngster, I was know simply as CAR:  my initials.  Mom didn't like this.  She said that Carol, the name she and Dad had given me., was perfectly good.  I didn't need any nicknames.

I rather liked CAR myself.  It distingished me from other Carols in school.  There were four of us in my class alone.  I guess Carol must have been a popular name at the time of my birth.

My added excitment was the fact that my last name was Rider.  I had no trouble picking up, "Hey, CAR RIder," across a play ground.  I didn't have to ask twice if it was me they wanted. Somehow, it seemed my nickname added stature to my being.

Years later when I married, my last name became Beshers.  That's right:  my initials became CAB.  This caused somewhat of a dilemma.  You see, my friends who had called me CAR for so long refused to change.  Those who began calling me CAB ribbed me.  They said I had gone into commercial taransportation.  Now, I had two nicknames.

This marriage didn't last very long. not because of my nicknames, but for other reasons.  I later married Joe Rankin.  That's right:  I went back to being CAR.  Those who had called me CAB teased me.  They said my venture into commecial transportation went "belly up."  Those who had never stopped calling me CAR said they knew it should have been CAR all along.

Joe didn't like either nickname.  When I asked why, he simply replied, "Because I drive a city bus."

Time marched on and Joe passed away.  I lived the single life for a number of years when I met Richard LaCroix and we married.  CAL?  It doesn't spell anything  unless it's an abbreviation for California.  But, hey, he was a trucker.  So, one way or another, I feel I'vebeen part of the transportation business all of my life.