Dramatic Monologue

My name is Simon Bar-Jona. And for years I carried that name with pride. Simon-- a strong name, said my mother-- a dependable name, said my father-- a name you can be proud of, said friends and neighbors. "Your great-grandfather's name," everyone reminded me. And I was proud to carry his name as my own.

Then one day Jesus began calling me "Peter" and the name stuck. Soon that's what everyone was calling me: Peter. Funny how nicknames get started. We called the old man down on the corner "Grouch" because that's what he was. The name fit so that's what we called him: Grouch. Our parents didn't like it much, of course, all us kids putting that kind of handle on the old man. "Mustn't call people names," they said. But once in a while it would slip out and even our folks kn…