Every once in a while an angel appears in the form of a person.
I was lucky enough to have two.. My Aunt Harriet… and one who
I chose to call, my Aunt Jo…
In this picture you see her with her sweetheart, that she married.
He got the best of the deal… Herbie, was in our family for years.
Neighbor, starting with his dad and him. Then after he was in the
service he got the thankless job of babysitting two brats of my
mother’s. My brother and I.
In 1954 or so… he brought an angel to a Thanksgiving dinner that
he always attended single… So we were excited to see this new
person in his life. And we approved wholeheartedly. And my mother
Is far from a push over.
After any big dinner… actually big or small… I was the lone dish
washer. Being 4 years older, and the only girl.. (Dad wasn’t keen on
boys doing dishes, so my brother didn’t do them until I left home).
So this dinner wouldn’t be any different than any of the past. But then again it was… Usually the adults head to the living room and my brother and I would clean off the table and I did the dishes… But this time was to be different… and I fell in love with Aunt Jo… See when I started with the task of washing the glasses and heading to the dishes, Jo stepped into the kitchen and said… “I will wash if you will dry. Because you know where all the things go… And that was the beginning for a great friendship and earned her the name of Aunt Jo. Which sad to say, I didn’t give to her until about 20 years ago. Herbie was never given the name of Uncle… don’t know why. He surely earned it..As he was the closes to a sibling for my mother, the only child.
Over the years, Herbie and Jo had a special place in my heart. You
would be hard pushed to find a more gentle man than Herbie. He
was very instrumental in my growing up… Sticking up for me, when
Mom would go thru one of her rants. Hired me to sell balloons at
parades that he use to do as a hobby… even selling things at charity carnivals, that he use to do the hit the bell for those who thought
they were the strongest.
As life went by and I left R.I…. Herbie and Jo were always on my mind.
Even though I was a lousy letter writer. They were the closest friends of
my parents… and were there, when Mom passed away, for my Dad. When
ever I returned to R.I. a visit with them was a must, if I did nothing else.
The King got to meet them both, and love them as much as I do. And
he earned a nickname from Jo… the Teddy Bear…
So here we are years later… and I print out every blog post with pictures
for my Aunt Jo, as she doesn’t do computers… Every month or two, I will
send it off for her to read with her friend Lucy. They are my biggest fans. Now, Lucy is in poor health, and Aunt Jo still reads the blog pages.
And this year… on this date.. we celebrate a great day… see 80 years
ago, an angel was born… HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNT JO… love you.. and
thanks for helping out that 15 year kid so many years ago..
I was lucky enough to have two.. My Aunt Harriet… and one who
I chose to call, my Aunt Jo…
In this picture you see her with her sweetheart, that she married.
He got the best of the deal… Herbie, was in our family for years.
Neighbor, starting with his dad and him. Then after he was in the
service he got the thankless job of babysitting two brats of my
mother’s. My brother and I.
In 1954 or so… he brought an angel to a Thanksgiving dinner that
he always attended single… So we were excited to see this new
person in his life. And we approved wholeheartedly. And my mother
Is far from a push over.
After any big dinner… actually big or small… I was the lone dish
washer. Being 4 years older, and the only girl.. (Dad wasn’t keen on
boys doing dishes, so my brother didn’t do them until I left home).
So this dinner wouldn’t be any different than any of the past. But then again it was… Usually the adults head to the living room and my brother and I would clean off the table and I did the dishes… But this time was to be different… and I fell in love with Aunt Jo… See when I started with the task of washing the glasses and heading to the dishes, Jo stepped into the kitchen and said… “I will wash if you will dry. Because you know where all the things go… And that was the beginning for a great friendship and earned her the name of Aunt Jo. Which sad to say, I didn’t give to her until about 20 years ago. Herbie was never given the name of Uncle… don’t know why. He surely earned it..As he was the closes to a sibling for my mother, the only child.
Over the years, Herbie and Jo had a special place in my heart. You
would be hard pushed to find a more gentle man than Herbie. He
was very instrumental in my growing up… Sticking up for me, when
Mom would go thru one of her rants. Hired me to sell balloons at
parades that he use to do as a hobby… even selling things at charity carnivals, that he use to do the hit the bell for those who thought
they were the strongest.
As life went by and I left R.I…. Herbie and Jo were always on my mind.
Even though I was a lousy letter writer. They were the closest friends of
my parents… and were there, when Mom passed away, for my Dad. When
ever I returned to R.I. a visit with them was a must, if I did nothing else.
The King got to meet them both, and love them as much as I do. And
he earned a nickname from Jo… the Teddy Bear…
So here we are years later… and I print out every blog post with pictures
for my Aunt Jo, as she doesn’t do computers… Every month or two, I will
send it off for her to read with her friend Lucy. They are my biggest fans. Now, Lucy is in poor health, and Aunt Jo still reads the blog pages.
And this year… on this date.. we celebrate a great day… see 80 years
ago, an angel was born… HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AUNT JO… love you.. and
thanks for helping out that 15 year kid so many years ago..
2 comments:
What a lovely memory and tribute!!!!
She was a blessing in your life and remains so!
Such a nice post about a special person!
Glad you have her in your life.
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