Published: June 27, 2009 05:24 pm      

The Name Game

Pondering the alternatives

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.

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