On Thursday, May 29th, my aunt Connie passed. She meant quite a lot to me because she and my father were very close. As children, my brothers and I cherished the moments she visited because it told us it was time for fun. My cousin Wayne and Connie would come, and Connie would make fun of how my father treated his children, just like his only little platoon. We had reveille, breakfast, chores, lunch, more chores, dinner, baths, and bedtime schedules. Connie would do her best to interrupt our day to make our father livid. It was all fun, and we boys loved it. Wayne and I were similar in age and tried our best to get into trouble.

My father was very disciplined. He posted a monthly menu on the refrigerator for dinner every night. No deviation was allowed because the weekly commissary shopping procured the meal ingredients. Initially, the meals were cooked by either of my parents. As we got older, that duty fell to the children. No deviation was allowed. When Connie and her son would visit, those rules remained. One regular item on the menu was liver and onions. Connie detested liver. Connie would not eat liver and onions, which generally gave us kids the go-ahead to dislike it. The playful arguments the two had were pleasant memories of deep love between siblings. When Mom and Dad were not around, Connie would visit to care for us. She taught us to cook, which usually meant a trip to the excellent McDonalds. A treat we very rarely were given. She sang us a song that I thought for years was her composition. I don’t remember if these lyrics are accurate.

…Gobs and Gobs of greasy grimy gopher guts

Mutilated monkey meat

Pints and pints of irdy birdy turtle feet

All you need’s a straw

Pints and pints of putrified pelican puss

blah blah blah…

I can’t recall the rest, but it’s close

Officially, the lyrics are from Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Green_Gobs_of_Greasy,_Grimy_Gopher_Guts

“Great green globs of greasy, grimy gopher guts,

Mutilated monkey meat.

Dirty little birdie feet.

Great green globs of greasy, grimy gopher guts,

And me, without my spoon”

Connie always made things fun when they often were not. She was that kind of woman. Motherly, but not so motherly as not to be a cool older sister.  

She had a hard life as a single mom but always had the smile and laugh I look forward to. When my father was dying, We kept him alive until she could drive to the hospital in Maryland.

I spoke with my cousin at length today. Wayne is a strong man, a father, and a family protector. Connie was a single parent of a single child; she raised a good son and provided for her family. She brought fun to the table like no one I have ever seen. Wayne is putting together a memorial to be had in the future. The family will primarily attend it to remember her. Her urn will rest alongside her father, a request she made well-known to the family. 

Rest in peace Connie

All my love, DJ

and Dan says “Nothing”.