Chick

Chick was the Khai Tam nickname for Mark Donovan. Members of the club who were particularly active or noteworthy generally were given (or adopted) nicknames.

Origin

Mark's nickname predated his membership in the Khai Tam by nearly a decade.

As a pre-teen, Mark was a exceptionally thin with long bony legs. The father of one of his childhood playmates commented that he appeared to have chicken legs. For a short time after that, his friend would call him "chicken legs" on the playground, and other kids picked up on the name but shortened it to simply, "Chick."

Variations

• Rooster

Mark is one of Jon's longtime friends from childhood, and as such was frequently over at his house. Jon's father, Ken Reddick, at first had a tough time remembering Mark's nickname. He knew it had something to do with chicken or poultry, so he started calling Mark, "Rooster." Shortly thereafter, Rooster was the only name by which Ken referred to Mark.