Great Auntie Do

My grandmother on my father's side had a younger sister Doris, known to most as Do (pronounced doe). By the time I came on the scene Auntie Do was a confirmed spinster, living with her widowed sister as her self appointed caretaker. So the story goes, she had loved and lost an American soldier stationed in England during the 1st world war and no man ever proved worthy after that.

Her main purpose in life was to clean and cook for her ailing sister, my grandmother. Even in her twenties, grandmother was known to have a weak heart and for the remainder of her life was instructed by doctors to avoid any undue stress. This included childbirth, walking upstairs more than once a day or any domestic duties. She did give birth to my father well into her thirties and survived that but for the rest of her 83 years was pampered by her sister and everyone else around her. Fortunately she was a much beloved lady.

Auntie Do, on the other hand, had a sharp tongue and could give you a look that would drop you to your knees, when she was displeased. Many feared her, most avoided her but I always rather enjoyed her. She was straight and told it the way it was. Her diminutive size was misleading, barely 5 feet 2 inches even with her ever-present 3 inch heeled court shoes. Her hair was always perfectly permed, coiffed and held in place with a very fine hairnet. She was never seen without makeup including a blacked-in beauty spot just below her lower lip, highly colored rouge and bright red lipstick. To me as a child this was all absolutely fascinating but the best part was her legs. She never wore stockings, summer or winter but applied liquid make-up to her movie-star gams. During the war, nylons were not to be had so the habit begun and continued for her entire life.

My grandmother was grateful for her sister’s care and was quick to praise her publicly and only a couple of times did she let her frustration show. Auntie was heavy handed and moved quickly often knocking over priceless ornaments and breaking dishes. But the occasion that sticks in my mind, although happily I was not there to witness it, concerned a certain budgie named Mickey. This little bird came to my grandmother right from the nest and was lovingly cared for and encouraged to fly free in the house. Every evening the two sisters would sit in a darkened room watching television (at this time, quite a new invention) and Mickey would sit on one shoulder or the other. On this evening, Auntie left her seat briefly to make a cup of tea and on her return resumed her position, sitting heavily into her chair. It was not until many minutes later when Mickey was missing that one flattened little bird body was discovered under Auntie’s ample derriere.

Great Auntie Do lived into her eighties until she decided she was quite old enough. She stated that she would stay around long enough to see me married but after that she would only become a nuisance. She attended our wedding in all her finery - pale blue, matching dress and coat, large upswept hat, high heels and, of course, make-up. Even before we returned from our honeymoon she was dead of pneumonia. Now there was a strong-willed woman!