Meaning of Beaver Hunting

A lot of nicknames or slang came out of WWII. Our bus driver on the Brown and White School bus that we rode in Chicago used the word "beaver" to announce there was a girl driving towards us in a car and she might be someone we might want to check out from our windows high above the street. Those were the early days of mini skirts so we made a game of it. We called it "beaver hunting" and in addition to our bus driver, guys from either side of the bus might call "shots" to let the others know and participate. If the girl was pretty and the view was good, the boys would react one way; if the view was not good, the boys would deride the caller. 

It's one of many experiences that I wrote about in my fictionalized memoir called The Brown and White. 

Shortly after the book came out, I was asked to come to a bar and answer questions about The Brown and White for an alum group that meets every couple months. I was asked about why I called the chapter "Beaver on the Right." I told the men that in my years at school that's simply what it was called, we never gave it any thought. My classmates would only accept the term--I really never thought about calling the chapter "pretty legs on the right" or some clumsy title--I preferred a more direct title and wanted to "keep it real."

Like a lot of slang terms there is several meanings to the term "beaver" and you can dig down low. This term was used by our bus driver, a World War II vet. The vets used the term "eager beaver" to describe someone who was gung-ho about something. I think they also used the term at times for a girl and probably in some cases, something more anatomical. But for us, it just meant that there was a girl driving up and we would check her out. 

You do your best when you write a book about experiences. Sometimes you get it right, sometimes you get it wrong.  If you write on young people, you might use a lot of profanity in the dialogue. I didn't do that in The Brown and White because profanity can get real tedious to read. Kids today often use the word "like" in every sentence, but for readers it just gets too tedious. Between kids use of  "like," their liberal does of profanity, and their over use of other terms like "dude," there is a risk no one can read through your copy. So I cut some of the authentic stuff out in dialogue to just make it more appealing. 

The Brown and White

Forty plus years in the making, The Brown and White is a fictionalized memoir that tells the story of Collin Callaghan's freshman year at a Chicago Catholic High School. Collin is a white boy who is living in turbulent times in a changing city. He clings to his neighborhood and his family as he heads out each day with his classmates on the Brown and White, the ancient school bus driven by free-spirited Willie. Memorable characters abound as this story unfolds. Collin's loveable family, especially his Irish Catholic policeman father and his Irish immigrant mother face life together. Collin and classmates blaze their own humorous and passionate trail through the late 1960s. A unique cast of terrific teachers are there to see the boys through. Laughs and life meet readers head on as they travel on the Brown and White.