It’s fun to invent new labels for people, a pasttime well known in the family I grew up in.

When a new beau came a-calling, the best he could hope for was to be called a manly man, as in, “Oh my yes. He is a manly man.”

When a newborn joined the clan, much attention was paid to calves, as in “Oh my yes. He has the family piano-leg calves.”

Here are a few new labels I invented:

Decade-jumpers.
These are folks who don’t live their story in proper sequence, such as those who get famous too young and miss childhood, those who marry the wrong person and miss the bliss, those who nurse a sick loved one and miss most of whatever else is going on.

Back-lookers.
These are folks who remember and reflect and recount what happened, who was there and what it meant. They are not goal-setters, forward thinkers, or futurists. They are hard to find but quite pleasant to have around.

Re-readers.
These are folks who read the same book more than once. They return to enjoy books they already met and find something good there.

Space-keepers.
These are folks who keep some things private. They are fading from existence.