About Me
Is your name really Brick?
I knew you wanted to ask me that question, so let’s get it out of the way right now. Brick - is that for real? What is that; some kind of Southern thing? No, actually it is my nickname; my given name is Henry Marston Smith, Jr. Really I should be the III, since my great grandfather and father were both Henry Marston; but my great grandfather always went by H. M. Smith, Jr., even though his father’s name was Hiram Moore Smith. Confusing, isn’t it, but I do digress like most Southerners.
When I was born, my oldest brother, Ken, (I know you were hoping for something like Billy Bob) had been the only child and had ruled the roost since his arrival. My parents, in their infinite wisdom and to ease the tensions around the home place, told Ken that he could give me a nickname. Being just short of his fourth birthday and even shorter on worldly experience, Ken came up with “Brick” and it stuck. Now this isn’t such as bad moniker when you consider some of Ken’s other choices - Hopalong, Trigger, Silver, and Tonto. Yeah, Ken always liked his Westerns. Personally, I would have preferred Trigger, since it has such great connotations.
Just in case some personal injury attorney is reading this and believes that I may have a cause of action against my parents and Ken; you can forgetaboutit. I like “Brick”, but I do have some Smith first cousins you might want to contact. This nicknaming by an older child had a precedent among my father’s siblings. There is a Douglas Mitchell Smith called Judge, a William Massie Smith, Jr. who was called Chick, and a Mary Williams Smith tagged Flubby (this is the one that I would contact). You guessed it; they are all second children just like me.
To be a Virginian either by Birth, Marriage, Adoption, or even on one’s Mother’s side, is an Introduction to any State in the Union, a Passport to any Foreign Country, and a Benediction from Above. I grew up in the Neck, prepped at Woodberry, graduated from the University, reside in the Mecca and sell dirt. If none of this is intelligible to you, then starting reading this blog. It is an acquired taste.