"HOT TOWN, SUMMER IN THE CITY"
This post is dedicated to Aunt Patti, my Luna.
It was 1966, and i was a fat little girl with big dark eyes and an unbearable shyness. Aunt Patti was beautiful, a tiny, curvy sex bomb..with a geometric hairdo,long fingernails, and full, smiling lips.She lived in Brooklyn, i lived in maryland, with my mom, 2 sisters, and little brother, still in diapers.
That summer was hot, and my favorite song was by the little rascals...."hot town, summer in the city, back of my neck gone warm and gritty"I was blissfully unaware of the trouble ahead, as i played in the fields,looking for butterflies,and read my books...And then it all changed....Aunt Patti was there, in maryland, laden with coloring books and crayons, and water pistols...My mom disappeared, and i knew from the secretive whispers that my Dad was very sick, Aunt patti took care of us....It was so much fun! We shot each other with water pistols, and had mounds of bubbles in our baths....and though she couldnt cook, i was amazed at the hundreds of tiny, rock hard meatballs piled up like a pyramid, gelling in a mound of pasta. I missed my mother, wondering where she was, and Patti sat with me while i colored in my ballerina coloring book , and tucked me in tightat night.It was a magical visit, and, thru the years, i would realize that she often came to us that way, with a laugh and enthusiasm, never letting on what grownup troubles she was protecting us from.
She was only 16 that summer. She gave up her dates, her home, her freedom...to go to a little cowtown in maryland, because she loved her big sister, my mom, and her brother in law, my dad.
She came because she loved us, 4 wild children, quite the handful.
She came because my father was dying, and she gave us the gift of love, shielding us from the inevitable, for just one summer more.
I am rich, because she is a precious jewel in my life...and, i love her.