Only in Sigourney

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If you pronounce it “Sig-OUR-ney” like the actress, Sigourney Weaver, they know you’re from out of town. It’s “Sig-er-ney” in these parts, and don’t get it wrong, or you’ll be suspect.

I pulled into a convenience store in Sigourney, for a break. A young couple, standing beside a pick-up truck, tapping on the window, caught my eye. I could see a dog inside the truck. Instantly, I recognized the situation. Although it has never happened to me (yet), their dog had locked them out of the truck.

Yep. Obi, a Puggle (cross between a Pug and a Beagle), had snapped the lock with its paw, while its masters were in the store. The keys for the truck, of course, were in the ignition.
Try as they may, Jared and Beth Cuddeback of West Des Moines, formerly of Washington, Iowa, could not entice Obi to step on the lock again, even with french fries. To complicate matters, Beth was 8 ½ months pregnant, but displaying a great amount of patience and humor considering the predicament they were in.

And it wasn’t even their truck. It was their parents’ truck that they had borrowed to haul a baby crib back to West Des Moines. They had called Dad, but it would be a while before Dad could get a spare key to them. What to do?

Jared called the police, and a deputy sheriff arrived. In a jiffy, the deputy had the truck unlocked and all were happy again.

Every cloud has a silver lining. Beth and Jared had not decided on a name for their yet-to-be-born child, a boy. (They know these things nowadays, ya know.) The deputy’s first name was Wes. Beth and Jared made a mental note of that name. Hmmm, could be.
Odd things happen in Sigourney, to others as well as me.

I had these friends who lived in Sigourney. It was the dead of winter, and they took off for a week’s vacation in sunny Florida. When they returned all suntanned, they discovered they had left the back door of their home open. Don’t worry, nothing was stolen. This is Sigourney. But it had been below zero for the better part of the week. Gulp. No pipes were frozen, but their back family room was covered with snow and ice, and the furnace had run continuously. That month, their heat bill was higher than their mortgage payment.

Only last week I was in a restaurant in Sigourney, and met a fellow whose last name was “Turnipseed.” I’m serious. I have his business card to prove it. His son was with him, also a Turnipseed.

Studying the meaning of the word, “Sigourney” I find it to be most generally a girl’s first name, with possible derivation from the word, “wonderfool.”

I believe it.

Have a good story? Call Curt Swarm toll-free in Mount Pleasant at 1-866-385-3955, or email him at cswarm@humana.com.