<p>Every CC parental screenname has a backstory. Here’s mine:</p>
<p>I chose TimeCruncher because of my conflicting relationship with Time. I consider Time to be my best friend… and my worst enemy. I use Time meticulously (hence, “Cruncher”)… and I squander it carelessly. I am exceptionally conscious of Time, specifically with regard to the manner in which Time sometimes seems to pass far too quickly… or seems to pass much too slowly. I am intensely aware of the manner in which Time relates to music, and so, I agree unreservedly with the old saying, “If you’ve got a bad drummer, you’ve got a bad band.” If supernatural powers existed, and if I could possess just one of those supernatural powers, I would choose the power to control Time, because whoever controls Time, controls All. </p>
<p>A more down-to-Earth reason I chose “TimeCruncher” is because I really like the way it sounds. I once contributed to a CC College Life thread in which I revealed that I have always despised my given name. My mother was pregnant with me at the same time Lucille Ball was pregnant with Desi Jr., and like fictional Lucy Ricardo–then pregnant with Little Ricky–my mother wanted my name to be “unique and euphonious” (I Love Lucy, Season 2, Episode 11, “Pregnant Women are Unpredictable”). I ended up with an unusual and discordant name that is hard for people to remember, spell, and pronounce. My name is even hard for me to pronounce. (The first syllable sounds like the beginning of a popular swear word, and the second syllable ends in a gag.) Moreover, my cursive-written name is filled with badly juxtaposed angles and loops, which makes signing my name a pain. Worst of all, my name suits me about as well as a violin would have suited the late, great Billy May’s big band. “TimeCruncher,” however, fits my physical appearance, my personality, and the manner in which I conduct my life. “TimeCruncher” is The Real Me.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, I’ve browsed the Internet to see if there are any other TimeCrunchers out there in cyberspace. I’ve found just one–a Kentucky-based mass transit scheduler who contributes to several mass transit and railway forums. I’ve learned a lot about Kentucky‘s “timecruncher” (he spells his screenname differently) from reading his forum posts; he knows mass transit inside out, and his favorite leisure activity is to travel to distant cities and explore their mass transit systems. (He has visited and posted photos of several urban mass transit systems I have ridden either as a resident or as a tourist.) The weird “separated-at-birth” element is that like Kentucky’s timecruncher, I am also an avid mass transit rider, enthusiast, and advocate, and train travel has also always been my favorite mode of transportation. (I grew up about a hundred yards away from one of four major freight/passenger rail lines which crossed my hometown; the train is the lead instrument on my childhood soundtrack.) I sometimes wonder if Kentucky’s timecruncher has also browsed the Internet, and has become curious about CC’s TimeCruncher. Perhaps someday, somewhere–out of sheer coincidence–timecruncher and TimeCruncher will be fellow passengers on the same bus, subway, trolley, or train. (For all he and I know, that might have already happened!)</p>
<p>I showed you my backstory. Now, you show me yours.</p>