My Aunt Jo

This picture is of a good friend of our family.. Actually two good friends of my parents. The man's name is Herbie. Herbie met my parents when they were all young. I was about 1 or maybe 2.  He was in high school at the time. Somewhere Mom had a picture of him in his band uniform. He was a drummer. He and his father were neighbors of my parents, while they built their house on Beacon Street. Then they moved from the cabin near Herbie, into the new house down the street a couple houses away.

Herbie was our babysitter.. a better description is, he was

my parent's baby sitter ...until he join the Navy during WWII.

Later he came back and was one of our neighbors for many

years.  He was close to our family and was like a kid brother

to my mother.  He was funny, great sense of humor

and as you can see, a great smile. 

In 1955 I believe, Herbie came to Thanksgiving dinner, which

was a regular thing he did every Thanksgiving.  But that year, in my eyes... he brought an angel with him.  Who he was smart enough to marry a few years later. Her name is

Josephine.  Better know to us as Jo... and to me.. Aunt Jo.

They were a great couple together..Herbie pass away a

couple years ago.

See I fell in love with Jo, that first Thanksgiving. After

dinner as usual, it was my duty to wash all the dishes. and

pots and pans, and serving dishes and glasses, and shrimp

bowls and salad bowls ... well you get the idea. It always

was a Cinderella type of duty. Dishes on all the counters.

Pots on the stove, etc... etc..

But that year, a angel walked in .. pass my protesting

mother, and said... I will wash the dishes, because I don't

know where they go after.. You can wipe them, and put

them away. I stood there, wide eyed in wonderment. No

adult ever ...ever .. offered to help me out.  And that my

friends was the beginning of loving my Aunt Jo.

Now we are 60 years later. And I love talking to her. I

call and check up on her. And for some reason she

thinks I write a great blog.. So I print out my blog each

month and send it to her.  And amazingly, she keeps them

all. Last I heard ...she had a huge box with them all in it.

But that is the way my Aunt Jo is. She is the sweetest

person.. the most giving person.. and always thinking

about others.. She is one of the most special people in

my life.

And best of all... she lets me call her Aunt Jo.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY... HAPPY 88TH BIRTHDAY,

MY SWEET AUNT JO.