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Because he came from Best Buds. Plant nursery.

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My stepfather has friends named Too short, Corky Buckwheat, and Third Thumb. They are all nicknames. Too Short is William and he is very short, even shorter than my stepfather who is about five foot four. Thurd Thumb is also William or Bill, called that because he has torn up so much equipment. Corky is Kenneth and nobody knows or remembers how he came to be Corky. And Buckwheat is Robert, and he came to be Buckwheat because when he was little and living with his grandma, the other kids would come by the house in the morning and ask if Bobby could play. His grandma would say "Yes, as soon as he finishes his buckwheat." And the name stuck like glue.

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These are all truck drivers, and some of them are what you might call red, more or less, and I am sure they would not be so widely known by those nicknames if they had taken up other professions, like doctor or teacher or furniture salesman.