A friend of ours from church was telling the story of his college days and the various nicknames given to members of his campus fellowship group. This group took the nicknaming process very seriously and went far beyond simply differentiating between “Big Steve” and “Little Steve.”

More often than not, there was kind of a mean ring to the nicknames. For example, “Punching Bag Dave” was given that title after getting beaten up by a younger student, and one student was named “Home Plate” after her home plate-shaped jawline.

However, the championship goes to a boy named Dave whose nickname was “Good Looking Phil.” Apparently, the “Phil” came from his early onset male pattern baldness (which gave him a kind of Phil Collins appearance) and the “Good Looking” part came from his arrogant self-perception as a ladies’ man. Thus, Dave became “Good Looking Phil.” Brilliant.

Reminds me of when George wanted to be known as “T-Bone.”