My maiden name is Shingler. (Note to any potential computer hackers: Don’t get too excited by my disclosure of this information as I don’t use it for any of my 97 various passwords.) As with many families, ours has some good stories connected to our family name. I was reminded of one yesterday when I received a “congrats on your website” card from my cousin Cindy who is about a year and a half older than I am.
Growing up, Cindy and I were quite close. We lived in a tiny rural town, and the Methodist church had a huge role in our lives. Our grandmother Elizabeth lived “kitty-corner” across the street from the church, and since we spent much time at Grandma’s, the church, with activities such as Youth Group and choir, was a natural spot for us as teens.
Cindy is an extraordinary musician. She, her sister Jan, and I would often sing the anthem in church while Cindy played the piano or organ. While we were no “American Idols,” I like to think that we did a pretty nice job, although that was called into question once. Just after we had finished singing as a trio one Sunday, a church steward delivered the prayer. As part of the gratitude portion of the prayer, the elderly man said, “And we thank you, God, for the Shingler girls and their little bit of talent.”
I lifted my head a smidgen and looked up at Cindy sitting at the organ. She looked back at me and raised her eyebrows Groucho Marx style as if to ask, “Did he just say what I think he said?!”
We knew that it would be quite impolite to laugh out loud in church, especially during the prayer. And we were pretty sure that the words he had spoken had meant to be a sincere thanksgiving for my cousins’ and my willingness to spend time and effort practicing to perform well. But still, the women in our family have gotten a lot of “smiling mileage” out of that unintentional one-liner.
Yes, indeed, thank you, God, for the Shingler girls and their little bit of talent.
To my readers – Please share an insightful or funny story about your family name.
