By Shaun Inguanzo
ROXANNE Knaap’s nickname could be evidence of such names undergoing the evolutionary process.
The 45yearold Pakenham resident was first labelled Rocket by sisters Julie, Barbara and Rhonda for her getupandgo approach to life.
“I have been called Rocket since I was three years old,” she said.
“(My sisters) used to call me that because I used to takeoff when they called me.
“I was always on the go,” she laughed.
These days, Roxanne is still hard to catch, but the Gazette managed to track her down at the Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne.
Roxanne said she had grown to accept Rocket, used frequently by close family members and friends.
“I don’t mind it, I’ve grown up with it,” she said.
“It seems a bit strange now that I am older, I don’t know why.”
But Roxanne revealed yet another nickname, Gockle, which she described as a derivative of Rocket.
“My nieces and nephews couldn’t pronounce Rocket,” she explained.
“So Gockle was the next best thing.”
In fact, Rocket said her nieces and nephews, now adults, did not tire of using the construed nickname.
“I have got a 30yearold niece who still calls me Gockle,” she said.
And it seems that Gockle fever has struck the newest generations of Roxanne’s family.
“Even my nieces and nephews have got kids now, and they are calling me that as well.”