Extended Family

Extended family are the condiments of life.  Did I mention how not plain my childhood was?  My immediate family was made all the more colorful by surrounding family.  I liken some of my favorites to several of the muppets shown above, for example:

Animal would be Aunt Tiela.  I'm not even sure I spelled that name correctly or if there is a correct spelling.  Tiela was a made up name.  Her real name was Marcia and she was Uncle Dan (Mom's brother)'s wife.  Marcia was entirely too plain of a name for her personality so I guess someone came up with Tiela.  Aunt Tiela had silky black hair that reminded me of an Indian (which was okay to say in the 70's--Indian, I mean).  Her smile was easy and huge.  She had a mouth full of big white teeth which she would pop out and suck back in for my amusement (there was nothing cooler in the whole world to me). I never saw her stressed, upset or angry.  She was happy, carefree, and a bit crazy--I loved being around her--she just didn't care about anything (great for an extended family member such as myself, not so much for her husband and children because when I say she didn't care about anything, she did not care about anything).  But damn she was fun!

Uncle Dan, Aunt Tiela's husband, would be the muppet with the sax mixed with the all-knowing eagle.  He was a thinker, but cool too, and kinda fun, and kinda crazy.  And he hugged me and loved me--I could always feel his love for me.  He was an awesome father to the three children he and Aunt Tiela had--especially after she left them at 2, 3, and 4 years of age.  He was a single parent long before it became a common term and he did it well.  Ever heard Elvis Presley's Don't Cry Daddy?  That was he and his kids after Aunt Tiela left.  I tried to tell Dory about that song when we were out to lunch one day and I started crying so uncontrollably I couldn't stop, then the waitress came over to take our order and it made me laugh that I was crying so badly which made Dory laugh and we both probably peed a little.  I'm not sure if I ever got the whole gist of the song out to Dory, but if you're curious, I'm sure you can find it on Google or YouTube.  Uncle Dan, at any rate, has always been one of my favorite people and I venture to say that I may be one of his.

Now we come to Grampa O'Brien (sigh).  I loved and still love him with all that I am.  I guess he would be a mix of the two old men that sat in the balcony seat.  He was brilliant (an amazing artist, read every book ever written, I think, and questioned everything), funny (he used to make me laugh until I had no breath), imaginative (he made up stories about how the boils on his back were war wounds from the Apaches attacking him (of course I hung on and believed every word)), and he was so very kind.  He gave me all the compliments I ever heard in life and hugs that, if I close my eyes and remember, warm me to my soul to this day.  Every time I saw him he would give me one of those hugs and ask me, "how can something that was already perfect get more perfect?"  He would tell me how smart, and beauty-ful (that was how he said it) I was and tell me all about "Gawd."  He knew the bible inside and out as well as every other religious book and questioned them all and came up with his own opinions about Gawd and his presence and his and our purpose.  I loved to listen to him and be with him.  I loved the smell of his cigarettes, which he rolled himself (well he had a little machine with a handle that he'd let me turn to roll them).  We would play poker and rummy and casino (he called it Big Dick and Little Pete).  My time spent with Grampa--any time--is the most content time my memory holds.

Mom's sister, Aunt Dee was Miss Piggy and her husband, Uncle Tony, Kermit.  I'm not just choosing Miss Piggy to be Aunt Dee because Dad called her "Swinella" due to her messy home (my siblings, by the way, call me Swinella Jr. for the same reason)--it's just her personality.  Strong willed and a bit full of herself but not unkind--unless someone messes with Kermit who's just an easy-going-leave-me-alone-to-do-my-own-thing kind of guy--like Uncle Tony.  Dad hated Aunt Dee's strength and Uncle Tony's easy-goingness, which he saw as weakness.  I loved them both and loved going to their house to play with their 5 children.  That house was always just a mess.  I don't mean messy, per se (though it was), but there was no order, no discipline, just chaos.  I loved it.  My cousins loved Uncle Hal (Dad) because he was so fun and crazy.  Uncle Hal played games like "how many clothes pins can you pin onto your face?"(I believe Dave always won that one) and "hang children out the window by one leg".  These games were fun to them because they were crazy and only had to play them when we came over which wasn't very often.  Oh, Uncle Hal was so crazy and fun!  Kermit and Miss Piggy's kids thought so anyway.

Uncle Chuck was Dad's brother and if there is an ass hole, pervert muppet, that would be him (the guy under the big monster in the top right corner looks like he could be a contender).  Chuck was never kind to me and thought it was funny to cause my brothers to be beaten so I don't really have much to say about him--colorful, yes--maybe black and brown running together.

Finally, when I got to Florida, I met Aunt Nellie and Uncle Art.  Aunt Nellie was Meme's sister.  I searched out the muppets for one like Aunt Nellie and physically maybe the professor guy but no one really matches her--maybe Aunt Bea from the Andy Griffith show without the sweet nature.  She wasn't mean, just very serious.  She had a yard full of lime trees and cacti, always wore an apron and was always cooking or making something.  My favorite was her limeade--the smell of limes still brings me back to her kitchen, a wonderful place.  Now as serious as Aunt Nellie was, Uncle Art, Gonzo, was that not serious.  He was the cutest, sweetest, little old man I'd ever known and still have ever known.

So there are the condiments of my life.  Oh, and I know this isn't extended family, but I always loved Jim Henson and always likened the monster in the top right corner to Dad, Grover to Gary, Ernie to Dave, Bert to Dory, and I was Cookie Monster--I've always gotten a bit of tunnel vision when cookies are involved.

Jen ;-)

P.S.  Sorry I don't have a likeness for Mom--she's just Mom, there's no one to compare, except maybe Cinderella (without the happy ending) and she's not a Jim Henson character.