Sticks and Stones

Having played together for several years now, we janus girls have learned a lot about each other’s tendencies and quirks. Being very fond of nicknames, I like to take these discoveries and turn them into suitable nicknames. Here are mine for Nuiko and Beth.

Last August, Nuiko and I were driving to a train station in CT to pick up Beth. Even though it was a summer weekend in New England, the traffic was minimal compared to the jammed highways and streets of New York. Nonetheless, with each cautious and careful lane change I attempted, Nuiko, sitting in my passenger seat, was “kind enough” to crane her head back and check my blind spot. She was very consistent with her supervising and it felt like I was in the rigors of driver’s ed rather than in the too familiar enclave of my own car. For such a chillaxed person, I thought it unusual that Nuiko be so vigilant in her self-assigned duty. Her nervous behavior prompted me to think back on other times I’ve been in the driver’s seat and I recalled her looking over her shoulder often making sure I wasn’t about to create a mess of metal. So then I had to ask myself, “Is it possible that I am a bad driver? Could she be looking over her shoulder in terror because she thinks it entirely possible that I’d run into another car?” Not being one to beat around the bush, I immediately asked the question of her. She denied any conscious involvement in being my official lane approver and stated that she in fact, thought I was a very good driver (yes, really). Having the spotlight shone on her for the rest of the ride, she realized herself that with each maneuver I attempted, she did indeed swivel her head and peer into the back seat. Even amongst our fits of laughter over her paranoia, Nuiko continued to verify our safety all the way home. Thus, Nuiko has been named Blindspot or BS for short. She takes pride in helping us all drive and making our American roadways that much safer. Thanks BS.

If any of you know Beth, you know that she possesses endless amounts of energy. She has a very small frame and flits about from one gig to the next usually while carrying at least one instrument and at the bare minimum, one heavy bag. There are two stories that come to mind that together, sealed Beth’s nickname. Last fall, we had a noontime rehearsal at Nuiko’s place and since Beth had come from teaching a Pilates session, she brought a lunch to eat before we began. She was in her usual high gear mode, eating pretty quickly all the while talking about her most recent social annoyance. I looked up from our muffins to discover that Beth had gathered some food to one of her cheeks and studying the protrusion I thought to myself, “Huh. Beth could be hoarding nuts like a squirrel.” Thinking about this a little more, I came to the realization that there was more truth behind my squirrel thought to be considered: she is prone to fits of sudden, unexplained movement, she chases other squirrels from one tree to the next (hypothetically speaking), she is always hyper-alert and she swishes her tail and emits a caw to warn her predators. Yup. Girl a squirrel. Around that same time, we were in rehearsal when we came to a particularly laborious section. Beth said something about being annoyed and in a freaky display of defense, made one of her eyes protrude from her head while her eyelid came about halfway down on the other. Classic squirrel face. Done deal.

I have a nickname too but I think it is based on a silly misconception. It’s best left to my bandmates to explain if they so desire. One hint: it involves a creature attracted to light – its kiss of death.