Bob

There are a lot of guys out there, like me, named Bob, and one, unlike me, named Baab(pronounced bob), which I’ll get to later.

The internet has many clever websites extolling the virtues of one of the most likeable palindromes in the English language.

The formal version of Bob, Robert, means fame, glory, or renown in ancient German. In searching for famous guys named Robert, I found a long list. 8 of them were “Sirs”. Couldn’t find any Sir Bob’s. 

Unfortunately, we “Bobs” are a dying breed (doesn’t that apply to everyone?). In the 1930’s BOB was the 75th most popular boy’s name. Currently, it ranks 5311. We’ve been replaced by Liam, Noah, and Oliver(?). 

Most “Bobs” began life as “Bobby”. I vaguely recall evolving to a “Bob” in Middle School. I also remember being called Robert, as in “ROBERT!!!” by my Mother and teachers whenever I screwed up. There are very few “Bobbys” who stayed “Bobby” throughout their life.

If you’re a “Bob” with a professional career, there’ll come a time when you’ll insist on being called Robert. I never reached that point. I left my warehouse managing job as “Bob”.

Regarding the afore mentioned Baab(pronounced bob). 

Back when I was a baker running my own bread store, I was working the “bread table” with my employee and good friend Houman. Houman is from Iran, and at that time was redefining his life in the U.S. after escaping religious persecution. We were working in silence, so I decided to start a conversation by asking him about his religion, Baha’i. Relatively unknown in the West, this religion preaches unity and justice for all nations. I further asked him who the founder was. To which he replied “Baab”. Pronounced Bob.

I couldn’t conjure up an immediate reaction to the revelation, so I just bit down a little harder on my tongue and the silence resumed