Special people

I don’t remember too much about my aunt and uncle, only that they were my favorite people during the early days of my life. Uncle Ninny, as he was called gave us an upright piano as a gift. Actually, his correct name was Nicholas, and he was my mother’s brother-in-law, husband to her only younger sister. We all thought he was the greatest person in the world. Uncle Ninny had always managed to treat everyone in the family with something exciting, be it pizza pies; a trek to a restaurant, or to Coney Island in Brooklyn to visit the then famous Nathan’s for whatever we wanted to eat. Of course, whoever was home that particular day had the pleasure of riding in his big car. At the time we didn’t have an automobile and got around with good old-fashioned footwork or took a trolley, bus or the subway to reach our destination. Riding in that car was exciting and a treat for all of us. When we got to Nathan’s, mother always chose the jumbo shrimps and French fries. The rest of us opted for hot dogs, soda and ice cream. Sometimes, our uncle would take us to Plum Beach or the Rockaway’s. There, we would indulge in other delicacies, which included shrimp and my favorite, raw Little Neck Clams on the half shell with hot sauce and oyster crackers.

Our family always looked forward to Uncle Ninny’s visits, however infrequent. We never actually asked what he did for a living; we just adored him. He was always bragging about the feats he performed, entertaining us with stories of his adventures, and we children hung on every word. I realized a few years later that he was not too different from a mafia figure, and by today’s standards, his character would fit nicely into the role of the Sopranos.

Unfortunately, many years later, he passed away from a terminal illness. Prior to his illness, we didn’t see much of both he and his wife, my Aunt Jean. I can only recall some of the early years. As my mother’s youngest and only sister, she was a favorite in our house. A regular walking fashion plate, she was well shaped, although her figure was slight in built. Her face was framed in beauty with large dark brown eyes and hair, which was always styled in the latest fashion.

At the time, she worked, and she would drop off her young son at our house. This was done so often that he became part of the household. At times she would stop by to prepare something special for his lunch. As I recall, my cousin was on some kind of restricted diet. Quite often, he would also stay overnight, too. Mother treated him just like the rest of us.

Anyway, this lovely woman sponsored me for my Confirmation. I remember sitting for our portrait at the photographer’s. I even remember the dinner my mom prepared in celebration. We had mountains of pork chops, creamed corn, mashed potatoes and tossed salad. Isn’t it funny how you can remember simple things like that?

There isn’t too much I can recall about my aunt, other than the time she became pregnant with her second child at 42 years old, 13 years after her son was born. I was around the same age as my cousin Nicky, maybe a year older. We were walking home from a relative’s house, about six of us, side by side on the sidewalk. I was the last to the right. My aunt was the first to the left with my mother next in line to her. I couldn’t help noticing that my beautiful aunt had a swollen stomach, so I just blurted out, “Aunt Jean, are you going to have a baby?” Seconds later, I didn’t know what hit me. Mother had lashed out with her pocketbook or was it her elongated arm, stopping everybody short to smack me. I’ll never forget that incident. It taught me to think before passing remarks about delicate subjects.

Aunt Jean remained my favorite aunt throughout the years, although I didn’t see her quite as often as I liked. My husband and I left to live in the suburbs, and busied our selves with our own family life. It was at occasional weddings and other special events that we would get together. Aunt Jean grew old gracefully. She kept her great shape and remained the envy of the fashion world. She had the habit of taking daily walks, and I believe that help considerably in her good health and slim shape. Unfortunately, on one of those walks, some punk mugged her. He became enraged when he realized she didn’t have much money on her. He beat her up and left her unconscious on the sidewalk. She wasn’t the same after that incident. She stopped her daily walks and stayed in the house. She passed on a couple of years before her 80th birthday.