Another interesting group of people in my family were my Uncle Steve and my Aunt Liz. They were the brother and sister of my Grandfather. They lived in CA, and visited us in MT several times while I was growing up. They died about 10 or so years ago- at pretty advanced ages.
They were also crazy. Nice people- I loved them tons, and always enjoyed seeing them- but they were wingnuts.
They lived together all their lives. They had taken care of their mother until she died in the 60s. Then they kept her clothes and personal belongings in their very small house in a LA area neighborhood on the decline.
They worked in a health food store and consumed dozens of vitamins a day. They had very little money, and had to keep buying TVs to replace the ones that were stolen from their house.
They always brought me little religious presents- like rosaries, icons, those little religious cards with the stitching around them that are supposed to go between the matresses (I think- an explanation of those would be appreciated).
They belonged to an offshoot of Catholocism that didn't recognize Vatican II (probably the same one that Mel belongs to), and were amazingly religious. They were also quite racist- despised Martin Luther King- and reviled anything stemming from the Civil Rights Movement. (that's where I got very uncomfortable being around them- when they started expressing these kinds of views when I saw them last- I was in High School)
They wore clothing that was sort of in style in the 1940s.
Liz wore bright red lipstick.
They had many, many cats crammed into their house. They used the bathtub to store newspapers. They used the kitchen sink to store empty cat food cans.
When family members came into the house after Steve was hospitalized and carted off junk, Liz got offended, and didn't speak to some of them ever again. When she died, Dad, Uncle Bob and Grandpa flew to CA and took a week to clean and rennovate the house so that they could actually sell it. I guess it was pretty rough. Lots of cat stink. Lots of junk. All of the good stuff had been carted off by the CA relatives.
I like to think of them staying in the motel my Grandparents owned and ran- and visiting their room- they made me feel special and loved.
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6 comments:
Word up, crazy but lovable. I remember when we took Aunt Liz to Disneyland when I was 5, she doted on me and acted like a kid seeing Disneyland for the first time. Afterwards, we went out for dinner, and she got a doggie bag for her french fries...they no doubt rotted in her house. Sad, but loveable.
When I was 5 and we went to Disneyland, she acted like she was a kid- and we know from the evidence presented that she went there at least twice. I think there was something very childlike about both of them. Not very worldly people. They operated in a vacuum.
no such thing as "crazy cat people."
Yeah- I was glad that they had eachother for as long as they did. And the family did do a lot to support them. They were just cussedly independant sorts.
I knew there was something I liked about you, lx! We may be a touch eccentric n all, but crazy? Perish the thought!
I'm not eccentric at all. I lead quite the usual suburban life. If you were to see where I live (fucking Stepford Wives Hell) you'd be quite surprised. I just seem to have run-ins with weirdness; I attract it, no matter where I go--even in different countries; actually PARTICULARLY in other countries. But also, cats rock.
We live in an odd place- and it's kitty Mecca. I'll be chatting more later about the newest kitties in our life- I don't want to turn this into a kitty blog (shudder) because I think it would be creepy, and they wouldn't appreciate it anyway. But I would categorize myself as mildly eccentric- and also a weirdness magnet (more so in the past) on occasion.
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