Blood and Vato

[Paul DiFilippo]

My reading of the naming of Blood and Vato was quite straight-
forward, yet indicative of TRP's cleverness in getting the most
bang for his buck.  Consider this example:  a lunatic street-
person given to constantly uttering some phrase, say, "Ding-dong."
Would it not be natural for others soon to impose his utterance
on him as his name?  "Hey, there goes old Ding-dong..."  Same
with Blood and Vato.  Because their verbal twitch is so
noticeable, it becomes their handle.  The author's ingenuity
arise in that _they themselves are never addressed by their
own names, whereas everyone else is_.  Neat.
Do I recall something similar from the film _Round Midnight_,
in which jazzman Dexter Gordon (?) was prone to address everyone
of both sexes as "lady"?

--
Paul Di Filippo/2 Poplar St./Providence, RI 02906/401-751-0139
What is the sound of one air guitar playing?