I Am Pumbaa

Sometimes nicknames just stick...even if they are silly and maybe even unintentionally insulting....or intentionally, I guess.  I have had several in my lifetime.  My grandmother called me "Princess", my grandfather called me "Sugar Girl", my dad called me "Junie", and my oldest brother Ray called me "Critter." Tommy calls me "Hoonie."  It is a name that has stuck since high school.  He NEVER calls me anything else, though when talking to others, he refers to me as "June". There is a story behind that name, but we will save that for another day.  I have a friend that calls me "June Bug" and one that simply calls me "The Bug."

Molly

I used to babysit my niece, Molly when she was very young.  She is eleven now, but has always maintained a very good imagination.  When she was two, she pretended that she was Simba from Lion King (a movie I had never seen), and she gave everyone around her a name from the movie.  Jana was Nala, Mimi was Zazu, Wilbur (Molly's dad) was Mufasa, Kasie was Sarabi (her mother), Nanny was Scar. Tommy was Timon and I was Pumbaa.  Now, out of all of those names, which one do you think stuck?  Well, I will tell you.
Everywhere we went, she no longer called me Aunt June.  I was Pumbaa. Remember - I had never seen the movie...(and still haven't.) One day when we were shopping, she called me Pumbaa and a clerk asked me if I knew what that character was.  I, of course replied, "No." She proceeded to tell me that Pumbaa is a warthog.  Really, Molly? Couldn't I be a more endearing, cute creature...like a bunny or a squirrel?  Ok, so there are no bunnies and squirrels in the jungle.  What about a sweet little frog or a zebra?  But no.  I was a warthog with a personal problem that I refuse to go into.
Well, I decided to embrace being "Pumbaa" with my whole heart.  People stop and ask me, "What did she call you?" all the time.  I mean ALL the time.  And of course when younger brother Owen and sister Aubrey came along, they too addressed me that way.  I really do love it.
When I decided to write this post, I thought I would investigate Pumbaa a little more.
Pumbaa - it means "simpleton, stupid, carefree, foolish, silly, weak-minded" (need I say more?) in Swahili.
Timon however, means "respect."  Really?  It also means "wise-cracking and self absorbed."  Okay, I feel better.  It is Greek.
Recently I kept my great niece, Cherith.  She has decided that Pumbaa is my name, but it comes out "Pumbee." I wonder what that means in Swahili.