Hello, and welcome to a short episode of The Gale Hill Radio Hour.

I’m your host Kate Jones here with a quick story and an invitation.

First, the story: 

On the morning after Mother’s Day, in the midst of feeding the cat, I found myself addressing him as “Little Chicken.” 

That is not the cat’s name, but the words arose out of me naturally and affectionately, just as Mom used to say them. “Little Chicken” was one of Mom’s nicknames for my younger brother.

She may have called me that too, but her preferred nickname for me — even extending into my adulthood — was Tweetie.

One year — when I was in my 20s — she came across a terrific Christmas card that she sent to me. On the front was a humorous drawing of a tall, gangly Tweety-like bird wearing a Santa Hat. The message read: Merry Christmas, Tweetie!

Talk about a perfect card. I still have it.

Anyway, Mom’s inspiration for the nickname may have come from the 1947 Warner Bros. animated movie “Tweetie Pie” and subsequent Looney Tunes cartoons starring Tweety Bird and his nemesis, Sylvester the cat. The “Tweetie” in the movie’s title was a cross between the endearment “Sweetie” and the bird character’s name, which was spelled with a Y at the end.

The original “Tweetie Pie” marked the first pairing of the characters Sylvester and Tweety, and it won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, breaking the streak of four consecutive wins in that category by Hanna Barbera/MGM’s “Tom and Jerry” cartoons.

“Tweetie Pie” was Warner Bros.’ first Academy Award. Obviously, Tweetie is one special bird.

Oh, in case you’re wondering about Mom’s other favorite nickname for my brother, he says she called him “Poopsie” way more often than “Little Chicken.” That’s probably worth a whole other story.

But I’d rather hear your story. If you have a childhood nickname (or two) that you’d care to share, please reach out to me through my new Substack account, https://jonesk.substack.com/. I created it as a way to provide extra content and connect with listeners. I’d love to hear from you.

This is Kate Jones with The Gale Hill Radio Hour. Until next time, thanks for joining us and sharing a few childhood memories.