This may get a tad intimate.
My venerable father introduced me to this word sometime after I learned to crawl. He called me Voncie, which if I had known how to spell, would be capitalized and illegitimate in Chihuahua.
Later, my college dormitory room was infested with them. Our bedding was stripped. In the midst of finals week, studies were interrupted as we scratched ourselves and frantically scrubbed the walls and moldings.
A few years later, one of those former roommates met me on the first day of my arrival at my new apartment. Being young and heedless, I had hired a guy with a van whom l found from a tiny ad in The Village Voice. To move me . He covered my sole piece of furniture, The Bed, w quilts. Not quite pristine. Also my unpacked clothes. Covered in quilts. Also, as part of the negotiations this gig mover permitted me to ride up front with him on the five hour drive. Now, you won’t be surprised to learn that Former Roommate broke out into an apparent rash after a short time of sitting on my relocated bed.
Yet, I remained unenlightened as to the true meaning of the word vonce. To me, it was an endearment bestowed on me by a doting father. I even named my first cat Voncie.
It’s humbling. Don’t you think?