Jennifer’s Blarney – True Story!
It’s that time of year when the luck of the Irish applies to everyone…mostly because they survived the winter! For my family, entertaining stories told during those cold nights ranged from survival (the Winter of ’67) to funny jokes to (led by dad) sing-a-longs. And they were always filled with my dad’s favorite food group – pie! Studies have shown that our memories are enhanced not with sights, but with smells of favorite foods and mostly music. From all of those sing-a-longs, I learned from my dad to combine music with entertaining true stories that everyone can relate to. My favorite story to tell happens when I am asked if Jennifer Silk is my “real name” or my “stage name”, I always answer “yes”. How could I not? After all, my parents (John Paul and Jeanne Pauline) were very good with names – just ask my brothers – John Paul Jr., James Peter and Joseph Patrick and me (Jennifer Patricia). What we didn’t know was the nationality of the name “Silk”. You see, my father was an orphan. He was never adopted but his foster parents were our beloved grandparents and his foster brothers were our wonderful uncles. Then about twenty years ago, my dad “found” his family of origin – they were from the County Galway, Ireland – but wait – there’s more! He found out that his mother (Della, my grandmother) happened to have been an Irish fiddler! How lucky can you get?