Names are so interesting, aren’t they? Personally, I used to dislike my name until I found out what the alternatives could have been.
Can you really see me as Clara Cornelia? About 10 or 15 years ago I found out from my mother that Clara Cornelia was indeed very much an option for my name. Why? It was my dad’s grandmother’s name; however, she wasn’t known by that name as she went by “Nellie.” Nellie’s husband’s name of Wallace was given to the youngest of my three brothers.
The story goes that our great-grandpa Wallace told Mother that if she had another boy he’d like the baby to be named after him since no one else had done that. She fulfilled his request. Then she also gave my brother her father’s first name as Wallace’s middle name. I think our mom was determined to carry on some family names. In that, she succeeded.
It is accurate to say that our family has carried on names since two of my nieces have Marie for a middle name while my oldest daughter and one niece have Elizabeth for a middle name. And the next generation is following along as well.
Through these last several years, I’ve been glad I was named Camille (thanks go to my oldest brother for insisting on that name). It has served me well.
Now, if I had been a boy, there might have been a problem as my mother also told me on that day we were discussing names what my name might have been. I believe my brother Wallace was reading Jules Verne’s “Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea” or “A Journey to the Center of the Earth” when Mother was pregnant with me, so I’m very thankful I turned out to be a girl! I might have been named Jules Verne.
A few weeks ago, I was discussing the topic of names with Shirley Brown Hargrove from Frost. You want to hear an interesting story about names? Then you really need to talk to Shirley. I’ve got a grin on my face from just thinking about our conversation. I’d hate to go into all the details since it’s really Shirley’s tale to tell and it involves other people, specifically the doctor who delivered her into this world. If you see Shirley, ask about her real name. It’s a humdinger of a story.
Thinking of the name Shirley also brings to mind another conversation. I was talking to Bill Davis recently and he told me about a soup that the Singing Men of Texas really enjoy. He told me it is called “Shirley’s Soup.” After talking with his wife Geneva, she said the name is called “Judy’s Soup.” Once again — it’s a “name” thing. Traditionally it seems that women do most of the cooking, so I think I’ll go with what Geneva called the soup. Enjoy!
Judy’s Soup
1 pound hamburger meat
1 onion, chopped
2 cans ranch beans
2 cans mixed vegetables, drained
2 cans tomatoes with green chilies
Brown hamburger meat with onions; drain. Add other ingredients to cooked meat/onion mixture. Heat through. Serve with french bread.
—————
Click here to e-mail Camille McClanahan.
Click here to Soundoff on this column.
Columns
Related Photos
Discussion
The Name Game
Pondering the alternatives
- Columns
-
-
Conkers for fall
Ever heard of a conker? Well, the fall is here and I am looking forward to it for many reasons, as well as rekindling some fond memories of autumns as a youngster in England, with conkers.
-
My memories of ‘back to school’
It is hard to believe that it has been nine years since I last did the back-to-school thing, and yet those memories (most of them good) are still as clear as day.
-
‘Green’ will drive us
If my vehicle broke down tomorrow I COULD use the community transit to get to work. I don’t believe that’s the answer in the long term though.
-
Way Back When…
Persons of a certain age waxed melancholy recently upon the death of a musical icon, Mitch Miller.
-
SIMPSON: School Days, School Days
Don’t look now, but the school year has sneaked up on us again.
-
It’s on ...
You’ve seen the commercials, I’m sure, for Southwest Airlines and various employees from baggage handlers to gate agents to flight attendants all voicing the phrase, “It’s on!”
-
Snarking on the news
The odd news has been delightful lately, and I thought I’d share a little bit of it with you today.
Nathan Wayne Pugh, a wannabe bank robber went into a Dallas Wells Fargo Bank with a note and a Whataburger bag on June 26, according to the Dallas Morning News. -
SIMPSON: One Moment, Please
No matter where you live these days, you have to make a good many long distance telephone calls. Maybe you made a purchase in an establishment close at hand.
-
STRINGER: Josiah Wilbarger
Wilbarger County, whose county seat is Vernon, is in northwest of Wichita Falls and southeast of Childress.
-
World Cup woes
The soccer World Cup has reached the last 16 stage, with teams giving everything to reach the last eight of the competition, and yet again, surprise surprise, England is not in the quarter-final lineup.
- More Columns Headlines
-
Beryl Makes Landfall on Florida Coast
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
UN Blames Syrian Forces for Shelling Houla
Raw Video: Gay Protest Blocked in Moscow
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
Jimmy Carter Endorses Egypt's Election Results
Biden Addresses West Point Graduating Class
Dozens of Children Killed in New Syria Attack
Raw Video: Activists Allege Massacre in Syria
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
