Fruitcake and Great Great Aunts

Last night I told you I would write about my great aunts, but after thinking about them I realized that they are my great great aunts.  Yes, these ladies were my grandmother's mother's sister.  Great Grandma Eaves had two sisters named Laura Webb and Bertie Lindsay. 

For years mom baked fruit cakes for all our distant relatives at Christmas time which we'd deliver the week of Christmas.  Mom would spend a day baking these marvelous smelling cakes, but smell good as they may, they sure weren't good....OK I was a kid!  Then she'd wrap them in foil and supposedly they would get better with age....RIGHT! 

On a cold winter's night, off we'd go toting these prized fruitcakes to all those elderly relatives.  The people I remember most vividly were Aunt Laura and Aunt Bertie and her husband Uncle Newton.  Don't you just love their names?  They were in their 80s...maybe 90s, but were a lively bunch.  They were absolutely thrilled to see us.  They always seemed to be dressed up, Aunt Bertie in her little dress, and Uncle Newton in slacks, wire rimmed glasses, looking dapper with his gray hair combed back.  He was such a sweet, gentle man and his grin told the world how kind he was.  (But he and Aunt Bertie had their moments.  Remind me to tell you about one involving my brother--another post.)  Not many kids came their way so it is surprising how warm they were to five little rug rats.  They didn't have a TV, but they had one of those large furniture type radios which was always tuned in to a radio preacher.  They had a cribbage set so that kept at least one of us occupied.

The radio was turned off as soon as we got there.  Have you noticed that most people have the TV on no matter if they have guests or not which I find irritating.  Mom and Dad believed that it was just the polite thing to do...turn off the TV and visit when you had guests in your home.  I still believe that. 

Aunt Laura lived above Aunt Bertie's garage.  This old woman (and I do mean old) had to climb the stairs to her home everyday, but seemed most capable although to a 10 year old girl, I had my doubts.  Can you imagine the noise we made clomping up those stairs?  It was dark out there, and just a little frightening when she would open the door.  She kept her apartment rather dark with only a small lamp or two burning.  She'd stand there greeting us with those Coke bottle glasses magnifying her eyes 4 times over.   This was both frightening and fascinating at the same time.  I literally couldn't take my eyes off her.  She'd have us set down and would always have some sort of candy for us.  Even as a child I wondered how long she had that candy.  Things always seem a little more fascinating in a dim light; she had all these trinkets.  Her apartment was just one huge room with a little kitchen area on one wall and her bed on another.  Somehow the whole apartment seemed huge and perfect and a place I was sure I would live one day.   

One thing really stands out in my memory and that is how polite I remember we were.  We'd set there quietly, squeezing 3 little girls into the chair without one word of discontent.  Maybe it was because we were just a little bit frightened of these old folks and their magnifying glasses.  Maybe it was because we were not allowed to speak while the adults were talking.  Respect!   

By the way, I have the radio mentioned above.  One day I hope to have it restored.  Sure...........