after 30 years...

Aunt Lil' in a photobooth
Aunt Lil', Florida 1956, courtesy of "uncle Joe"

Aunt Lil', Florida 1956, courtesy of "uncle Joe"

...I'm still here.

30th: My 30th birthday was good. Andrea and I went to some local antique shops and as usual, I bought some photos. We went out for an early dinner and ended the night with desert and wine... followed by a movie at home. In all, it was relaxing. Unfortunately, Sadie died early that morning, which was a bit upsetting... It was surprising how fast that happened? I know it has, and is, especially difficult for my family right now.

Day to Day: I've been working on a new booth install and getting our crew ready for my future "absence". So far, things are working out.

Friday night we're having some people over. (Andrea is forcing me to have a party -so I guess, no working on Friday...). Then, this weekend, we'll head to our house in Highland, WI to do some work. Hopefully, the bathroom and new tub will be done? Or, at least close to done!

Lil: ...and thanks to my uncle Joe for providing some photos he found of Lil. Also, he sent me some of his thoughts. I thought they deserved a post...

Uncle Joe Wrote (excerpt):

"I read your "blog" about Aunt Lil. And you're right, she was alone. But she didn't have to be. And she wasn't always that way. She was a bright, fun, young girl at one time in her life. She used to waitress, I think they called her Betty or something like that, and in the summer she'd go down to Florida and have fun. She was once a girlfriend, then a fiance, then a hopeful bride for a few years. Unfortunately, her husband Pat, who was the one torn out of the picture, had a wandering eye, and Lil was having none of that. So they divorced....

"When I was little, I remember her as a fun Aunt Lil. We'd sleep on couch cushions in her room and fall asleep to Johnny Carson. Your Aunt Lil loved her Johnny Carson. Then in the morning she'd pull the cushions out from under us to get us up. She didn't take any crap. She was always loud, yelling, Italiano. She came back from a waitress shift and we were counting her tips, and she thought she'd lost a $100 tip, when I found it, I remember she gave me $20!! And I was just a kid, so that was huge!"

"The years flew by and Grandpa (my great grandfather) had a stroke, and now she lived with her parents because they needed her. After Grandpa died, Grandma needed Lil to take care of her. She didn't have much opportunity to meet anyone. Also, she had some kind of cancer on her lip, and had surgery, and there was a scar, and I'm sure she was self-conscious about that and her weight..." (edited)

"I just don't want you to have the impression that my Aunt Lil, our Aunt Lil, was always angry or bitter or alone. I like to remember her when she was the fun Aunt Lil, calling us "little bastards" and watching Carson late at night. I think she'd like that.