P with E

Just like it sounds: this was a common pejorative used by my mother from time to time. She never explained what it meant, and given the circumstances under which it was used, it never seemed like a good time to ask.

She's gone now — cell growth gone awry, early 1977 — and it was much, much later when I broached the topic to my brother. He, of course, knew what it meant. (In her later years, he was paying more attention to these details than I was.) And sometimes, I must admit, I did behave like a prick with ears.

Just a random thought; then again, today would have been her 75th birthday, so maybe it's not so random after all.

Posted at 4:09 AM to General Disinterest