Inga Munson Christiansen

from Munsons by Alex Munson

My Dad told some amusing stories about his sister Inge, who lived on Staten Island. She had five children – Christie, Jenny, Louise, Nancy, and Agnes. She was on the heavy side and ruled her family with an iron hand. And she was a teetotaler.

She would visit us from time to time. One winter day when she visited us, she decided to walk down to Third Avenue to the grocery store to buy a bottle of vinegar. The sidewalks were icy and she slipped and fell after leaving the store with her bottle of vinegar. Afraid that people trying to help her up would see the bottle and think that she had been drinking, she held up the broken bottle and said, "Smell, smell."

Another time while driving with Dad in his Studebaker and he had stopped for gasoline, she asked, "Did we come here to change gears?"

She had a big heart, and when we visited her on Staten Island she always served a sumptuous meal with many cookie and cake delicacies. One time Christie took me for a sail in an outrigger canoe, off the sandy beach. That was exciting fun



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