Who is Biz?

This post was inspired by a conversation that I had with my dear friend, Amy, at the Barrel a few weeks ago. We were talking about this blog and she asked how in the world we came up with a nickname like "Biz" for Caleb. Well, the truth is, we didn't. Like most things with my independent, head strong first born, he did it "all by myself." (um..himself)


I remember it very well when he decided that his given name just would not do. He was only a few months older than Seth is now. We were on vacation in Myrtle Beach with Eric's family, and he kept talking about Biz. Eric and I weren't sure who Biz actually was, but we were aware that he was usually close by. We finally realized that Caleb, himself, was the Biz character of whom he spoke.

So, why Biz? Well, if you say "Caleb's" really slow, the last part sounds like Biz. I guess when you are an only child you hear the possessive form of your name quite a bit and from that, he discerned that his name was actually Biz. Oh, he still answered to Caleb, but it became obvious that his name of choice was Biz.


I was slow to conform. After all, I did choose to name him Caleb, because I absolutely love that strong, bold name. I couldn't think of any way one could possibly pull a nickname out of that beautiful name and that suited me fine. But of course, Biz did.

I wasn't the only one reluctant to conform, though. Caleb's buddy, Elliott, downright refused to call him Biz and chose his own nickname for him, Cable, which he called him up until the last six months or so. Now, he calls him by his birth name, but not Biz. Way to stick to your guns, Elliott! Instead, Elliott chose to pin the Biz name on Eric and at last check, he still refers to Eric as "Biiiiiz".

The nickname instantly caught on with Eric's whole family (including extended relatives) and I rarely hear them refer to him as anything but. Actually, I am not sure if anyone in Flemingsburg even knows his real name now. And Sethie refers to older brother as "Bia". I guess I have come around, too. Okay, I admit, I love it, because it is part of who he is now. Although Caleb is my first choice, I find myself often referring to him as my Biz or Bizzy (As any of you regular visitors to the blog well know. Sorry for any confusion, but I am sure you picked up quickly on the real identity of Biz). However, I did have to draw the line when some of the nurses Memaw works with asked her if we were going to refer to Seth as "Buzz."

The answer was an emphatic "No!".