"AUNT JOSEY"

"Once upon a time", long ago when milk was delivered in bottles, and Sputnik was a new moon. I used to spend part of my summers with my Aunt Josey. My "Aunt" or I should say my Grand Aunt Josey, 'cause she was my Grandma's sister, had a little house far out in the country. She was a sweet, sweet person made of equal parts of kindness, and patients..

She was the one that taught me that there's good in everyone no matter how they may seem on the outside. She also was the one that told me that animals, all the animals have souls, and go to heaven. No matter what they say in church.

I loved my Aunt Josey.

I remember one time we were up late, very late playing Chinese checkers, and listening to old records on her Victrola. Yeah she had a classic "Victrola" record player, this was before she got her TV. Well we were doing all that, and keeping each other company.

An aside,..my Aunt Josey could crack walnuts with just three fingers. She'd use her thumb, and two other fingers, and crack! When she made pancakes she could make'em flip three times in the air! She could read palms too.

Now that I think about it she used to like reading my palms. She gently held my hand closely examining my various "life lines." It would be as if she were reading some strange book that told of all the weird stuff that was in store for me.

She'd look at my palm, then look at me, look at my palm again, and take a breath. All as if to say,.."Boy have you got a life on the way!" Fortunately I was young innocent, and full of grace as children are. My cynical side still slept. So all I did was giggle as Aunt Josey's fingers tickled me as she traced the lines of my strange life to come.

Btw, she could read tea leaves too.

 She came from a world, an era where the acknowledgement of other realities, other realms of being were taken for granted. This decades before Ram Dass, or Oprah.

But to the story.

As I said it was late, very late. After we'd put the games, and records away my Aunt Josey took me by the hand, and led me through the kitchen, and out to the backyard.

The night was warm, and sweet smelling. There was a nice breeze, and a sky full of stars! Fireflies, lightning bugs bobbed, and blinked above the grass.

There was a stillness, a quietness that covered everything. Like snow,..summer snow. Aunt Josey, and I sat on the back porch, and enjoyed that magical night,..so many years ago. After a time she looked down at me, and said, "Sidney,..everyone in the world is asleep except for you, and me."

I looked up at her, she smiled.

"Yes", she said, "Their all asleep." "We're the only ones in the whole wide world looking at the stars, feeling the wind or talking to each other."

"All of the animals, all the birds, all the fish underneath the sea, and all the people even your Mommy, and Daddy are asleep, and dreaming now.

Holding me close, and looking up at the stars Aunt Josey said, "We're the last ones, the last ones in the whole wide world,..that are still awake."

The moon, the bright orange summer moon was large very large in the sky.

"You see", my Aunt Josey said,.."See." "The moon has come close to kiss the world good night." "The whole sleeping world." "It's come to kiss us good night too."

The moon, the smiling "man in the moon" filled our sky, and told us it was time to rest, time to sleep. Aunt Josey picked me up, and took me to my room. She tucked me into bed, and helped me say my prayers. She kissed me good night, and went off to her own room.

In a little while, in a very little while both she, and I joined the sleeping, dreaming world.

Amen.