So my Aunt Lib and I almost share a birthday, right around where Summer is finally in swing for the too shortest of time it always seems before the dreaded. She called me Friday to remind me of such shared and to apologize for her card not being in the mail just yet like that was a necessary thing. To tell you the truth I had kind of forgotten but somewhere in my head I also knew that I had forgotten on purpose, as I do every July, as is there anything better than an Aunt Lib phone call to remind you of cards sent every year since, well, since?
I took the call at the backside of the station here, out the back door as I knew, with speaker on, that it would be gloriously Aunt Lib loud, and listened to the rat-a-tat-tat word machine gun that is an Aunt Lib no words edgewised or even shoehorned on my end, no words being able to wedge their way in but I beamed when I walked back in as only an Aunt Lib can make you beam.
She’s an inspiration, a wonder, shorter and slightly heavy shouldered these days though, with an all gray and a still disappointment at my lack of Church but still an ok as long as I’m being a me “just don’t tell me of your liberal things Stephen … do you still have cats? ” she says. ”what about those Steelers this year?” she says. I have other things Aunt Lib I say, not liberal things, it’s not all about always trying to make points that you and I don’t agree on and yes I still have cats.
She is the closest thing I have left to my Dad as they were just peas.
I don’t tell her of my liberal things, just like I didn’t really tell my Dad of them in the college days, though I wish I had, and she doesn’t tell me of Aunt Lib things in that regard though she baits me in the most wonderful unsubtle of ways always wishing to maybe make me somehow “come around” like this phone call would suddenly be the magic pill.
“Dad? your sister is doing that sister thing again” I say to the sky and the wind and the sounds of birds with a wink.
“She IS one minded Stephy’”.
A one minded that you love with all you got as it’s genuine. There is not a lot that is genuine left in this world, not anymore, but Aunt Lib? She deals in genuine.
I told her that I would email her some things of mine that were just things, just thoughts and moments that had no political points purpose, just things about my every day, or past days, that would let her know that I was alright, or maybe not alright depending on the take, but still alright in the grand scheme of small Steve world things.
She emailed me back earlier, that she would take the time to give a look when she got back from Church … I so look forward to the response.
frankenberrysattic.com 