“Because you can’t go through life treating everybody like a stranger. ‘Joseph’ is what you call somebody you don’t know. It’s their whole, full name. It’s formal. Nicknames are about more than just making a name shorter, you know. Think about me calling you Ruthie. It adds a syllable. It’s not about the syllables. It’s about the familiarity. It makes a name more familiar, and that makes the person more familiar. It’s something you grow into as a way to show you know somebody. It’s how you open the door and let him in.
