Thursday, October 9, 2008

Lop or Sided

He had a patch of hair towards the center of his head, and that was all in terms of top hair. It was of a thin, flaxen variety, and people tended to shudder when they saw it. His name was Lop.

When Lop was in grade school, the cleverest boy in his class began calling him Sided. The other children did not know why this particular name was so funny, but they all took a great deal of pleasure in calling Lop Sided.

Upon reaching a suitable age, Lop moved very far from home. He felt a great sense of relief at no longer being known as Sided, and instead simply as Lop. Then one day a terrible thing happened. A boy from his hometown showed up in his new town and, in a very public manner, addressed Lop as Sided. Everyone around found this devastatingly funny, and soon Lop was once again known to all as Sided.

It is not clear why Lop found the name Sided so objectionable, but a person’s reasons for finding anything any way are rarely very clear. Suffice it to say that Lop did find the name Sided objectionable, and that the return of this name made his life in his newly adopted home just as unpleasant as the one he had tried so very hard to flee.

No comments: