The End of An Era

I got a voice mail from my cousin Eddie yesterday, telling me that his mother, my Aunt Florence, had died. It wasn't unexpected -- she was in failing health for quite awhile, and the latest FaceBook (tm) posts from my cousin Marlene had photos of her in the hospital that looked eerily like the way my Mom did in her final weeks. Florence's nickname was Giggles -- because she cried a lot as a child. Ah, the classic irony of immigrant Jewish families like my grandparents' -- it gives us our precious sense of humor. Giggles was the youngest of the 5 siblings. She married Bernie, a man who adored her, and survives her. Family lore is that before Giggles could marry Bernie, her mother, my grandmother, "had him tested to see if he was retarded." Apparently he passed the test. Bernie was quite a character -- an early Cliff Clavin -- a know it all who knew little, but tried to come off as something bigger. He never made much of a living at his various jobs -- another bit of lore is that he was fired as a night watchman for falling asleep -- but somehow he supported his wife and 4 kids --though Giggles had to work. Giggles was warm and loving, and always laughing in my memory. Her house was a chaotic place -- twin girls, my cousins, who were 5 years older than I -- always in and out with friends -- animals everywhere -- apple trees to climb in their various Spring Valley houses... My Mom is one of 5, and she lived the longest life. Marty, the oldest, cied in his mid 80s. Dorothy, the exotic dark haired beauty my Mom adored, died in her late 60s, and Lorraine, my Mom's 5 year younger blonde sister, died in her early 70s. Mom made it to 93, and Giggles was 83 or 84. Our families long ago ceased to be close. The few cousins I truly like seem, like me, to be caught up in their own lives, and the rest I truly have little in common with. I last saw Giggles at Lorraine's husband Abe's funeral -- must have been 4 years ao. She was in a wheelchair, but happy and smiling -- telling me how much she missed my Mother. I reported this to Mom, who declined to attend the funeral since Abe's new wife had "replaced my sister," and Mom laughed -- her relationship with her baby sister had run its course -- and Giggles blowing off my niece's wedding had been the last straw. Still, Giggles had a very full life. In the end, though, her Florida kids didn't care closely for her, and her NJ daughter -- my one first cousin who converted to Christianity (that's a whole different story) took her in -- always posting photos and asking for the "Lord" to bless her mother. Jesus -- what would grandma Goldie have thoght? So now it occurs to me that, at 52, I'm an orphan, with no aunts or uncles... Time keeps flowing...