THE PAPERGIRL IS 85!

Deep down in the “new” old south, Boca Raton to be exact- (“God’s Waiting Room”, to quote Josh Peck’s Mom) lives a little old lady. She became a widow a few years ago, and although she is lonely she manages to keep her spirits up. For years she would shop, and visit her many friends and bring good cheer wherever she went. Living in Brooklyn when she first married, she along with her husband and only natural child moved to Long Island to raise their child and an adopted boy who grew up to be a very good and loving son. Along the way, her natural son passed on, and she and her husband bore the pain with dignity and grace, never letting it interfere with all the relationships the fostered.

She is my Mother’s youngest sister, and she was always and still is a sweetheart. Marie would visit my Mom when I was a youngster, and make me nuts. Coming up the two flights of stairs, she would enter the apartment, shut the radio off as Arthur Godfrey was selling his Lipton Tea, and check behind my ears to see if I washed their. “Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk! You have to wash behind the ears. Lena, tell him he has to wash behind the ears.” Then the five of us, my Mom, Aunt, her Son Nick, my Sister Fran and myself would descend the stairs to deposit Fran and Nick into baby carriages to begin the longest of marches down to Broadway or Pickin Avenue in Brooklyn. Along the way they would stop at all the store to browse and shop without even taking a break, and return home to cook supper for their husbands.

Around 1954 or so my Aunt moved to Long Island and raised her family until the late 70’s or early 80’s after Nick passed away and her younger son joined the navy. She and my Uncle Frank (a separate blog to come) moved to Boca Raton, Florida. Then in the past few years, my Uncle passed on, and left her living alone in Boca.

She has her days she says, and she suffers from old age, using a walker. She gets up every morning and delivers newspapers in her building, using an elevator to go up and down in her condo, and her walker to travel a mile or more to shop. Her only child now lives in Virginia, so it’s hard for him to get to see her as much as he would like, but when he does, spends most of his time doing whatever he can for her. This lady is about 85, delivers her papers in the morning to give herself a jump start, walks all that distance to shop for herself with a walker, and never asks for help! Never.

I know her story is not unique, what is unique is that anyone would recognize how many poor old people we have out there, doing just that! Alone, staying alive for the love of life, and keeping a set of friends, not ever angry, but giving old age dignity and earning the respect of the young, I hope.

I’m willing to bet that she is more reliable in her paper delivery than any young paper boy or girl I ever had.

God bless you, Aunt Marie.