Aunt Molly

Aunt Molly had polio as a child,

and forcibly struggled to get around

on crutches the rest of her life. She

married, Edward, a good natured-man

who gave her three children; who

while driving their youngest boy to

school one day soured and decided

to keep on going. Her eldest son died

of pneumonia in his early twenties

while serving in the armed forces.

Her daughter ran away from home

as a teenager, and was never heard

from again. She once told me as a

child that we kids had no reason or

right to worry and complain for we

have no idea what real trouble is.

A few years before her death, I paid

Aunt Molly a visit at her home in

Arizona. She received me with the

cool brand of cordiality I remembered

so well—heart still hardened as stone,

face frozen stoic, bereft of even the

slightest offering of a smile. I took her

picture, respectfully aware of leaving

out the ludicrous reminder for her to

say “cheese.”

Chris Hanch 3-9-18