Recently, Thomas received a very special gift: a wheelbarrow of books from Aunt "Jussie" and Uncle Bob! Of course, we had fun reading about Sal's blueberries, the little fireman, and the big blue octopus, but the best part was piling the books in the wheelbarrow and dumping them out...over and over and over again!
For those of you who don't know, Aunt "Jussie" and Uncle Bob are two of my very favorite people. Joyce--dubbed "Jussie" by me before I had mastered certain language skills--is my mother's sister, and Bob is her husband. They have owned and operated Haggle Shop Antiques in downtown Kingsport for over 40 years, and they have worked tirelessly to promote historic preservation, small businesses, and community values in their hometown. When I was young, I spent many days and nights at their house watching movies that Uncle Bob had taped on his VCR (I still cherish the copies of "Gone with the Wind," "The Blue and the Gray," and "North and South" that he made just for me!); drinking hot tea with extra milk made by Aunt Jussie to perk me up in the morning (always a challenge); helping them refinish furniture in their driveway (I can still smell the stripper!); and "loving" (more like "pestering") their gray tabby cat, Fluffy, (God rest her soul, I don't think she ever forgave me for pouring a bottle of lotion on her fur). And needless to say, they always gave good presents like jadeite bowls and home-taped miniseries and BOOKS. And love.
There is no doubt that Aunt Jussie and Uncle Bob shaped who I am today. In fact, if you ask my mother, she'll say I'm more like them than her...antiques, old movies, hot tea, cats...I think she's right! And don't be surprised in a few years to find Thomas curled up on the couch, Ollie cat in lap and steaming cup of tea in hand, watching Scarlet O'Hara shaking a radish at the world and pronouncing that she'll "never be hungry again!"
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