How I got the nickname “Slim”

We’re talking the early 80’s, so I’ve been dealing with this nickname for almost 30 years now.

I was over at my older brother’s house and he was on the phone to our maternal grandmother, Ida.  They had been talking for a while when she asked him how his brother was doing.  Having two brothers, he asked which one she meant.

Not that she was senile or anything, but according to my brother her response was “uh, you know…, Slim.”  You know, kinda like how you call that big burly guy “Tiny”.

Anyway, my older brother found that incredibly hilarious, and the siblings have been calling me that ever since.

Strolling through the park one day...

This must have taken place sometime in the 30's, my mom's grandparents were a young couple at the time.  Ida, my grandmother, tells this story from one afternoon in Central Park;

They were walking through the park one warm afternoon and caught up to another young couple they did not know, walking in front of them on the path.  My grandmother reached forward and quickly goosed the girl.  The boy turned around and shot my grandfather a nasty look, as if to say "the nerve."  A few minutes later, my grandmother reached forward and goosed the girl again.  Fortunately, at this point there was a fork in the path, and my grandfather quickly led my grandmother the opposite way the other couple went.  He said to her, as the boy shot them another nasty glance, "Ida, I can't take you anywhere."