Dear belMarduk: Nicknames seldom make sense. Why is Senator Edward Kennedy called Teddy? Why am I called Bill? Sometimes nicknames are coined by the small children who cannot pronounce the name right, and the family rather than mocking their efforts, adopts them. I saw a cartoon in New Yorker recently showing one young executive asking another, "What does it mean when the boss does not use your nickname?" Haven't got the magazine to check the quote, but it's fairly close. In many settings, if you don't have a nickname,you're underprivileged.