Aunt Emily

Good Morning!

Proverbs 19:20-21 (English Standard Version)
20Listen to advice and accept instruction,
that you may gain wisdom in the future.
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man,
but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.

I have been thinking of Aunt Emily today. Aunt Emily wasn’t really my aunt – but we always called her Aunt Emily. She was married to D. Leon Posey – Aunt Mae’s second son. And, of course, we called Uncle Leon “Uncle Leon” even though he was my Mother’s first cousin and not her brother. Mother did have a half-brother, Uncle Charles, but we saw a whole lot more of Uncle Leon than Uncle Charles since Uncle Charles was in the Army. As a matter of fact, he was stationed in Iran in the late 50’s and early 60’s.

Uncle Leon was a partner in Posey and Lynn – a company that built trailer bodies for Dorsey Trailers. Their shop was on University Avenue, right next to the Expressway. I still think of Uncle Leon as I pass by the site daily. Of course now it’s a limousine shop but in my mind’s eye it is still Uncle Leon’s business.

Both Uncle Leon and Uncle Charles were good to Mother. When we moved in with Grandma in 1957, we did not own a car. Uncle Leon “sold” mother his 1951 Buick. It was blue and had “dynaflow” – which is a type of automatic transmission. I remember the car well – what brought it to mind was thinking of 260 air conditioning. The cooler weather has me riding down the road with my windows down – 2 windows, 60 miles an hour – great air conditioning. But I am sure Mother never got Betsy Buick above 45 – so maybe I should say 245 air.

You know, we don’t name cars anymore – at least we don’t in our house. But when I was coming along, every car had its own name and personality – along with a clock that never worked and AM only radio. After a few years, old Betsey developed a hitch in her universal joint and was replaced by Uncle Charles’s 1955 green Oldsmobile 88. I can’t remember her name (yes, cars always were feminine – get over it). She served us well – long past the time I up and married Ms. N and we bought our first car – a 1959 red Rambler Station Wagon. We paid cash - $279.

Uncle Leon was a good soul – as was Aunt Emily. They owned a lake lot with a single wide trailer on Lake Lanier and would treat us to a week with them each summer. Of course, the treat also included doing some work for Aunt Emily – and playing gin rummy each night with Uncle Leon, Aunt Emily and Cousin Katherine Holmes. Work didn’t kill us – and fishing and swimming was fun. Good days long remembered by this old soul.

Uncle Leon gave me something I needed – time. I am sure in our conversations he gave me some advice – some that became so ingrained that it is became a part of me. He was a patient man who loved Aunt Emily deeply and loved his Mom. When Aunt Mae suffered her stroke in 1965, it was Uncle Leon who gingerly lifted his mama from the chair at the table and carried her to the hospital. Little did we know that Aunt Mae would soon be gone – and three short years later, so would Uncle Leon. Aunt Emily lived thirty years past Uncle Leon’s death – she was there when Grandma went home and when brother Bruce’s wife died in the 1980s. As a matter of fact, Bruce leaned heavily on Aunt Emily during this difficult period.

I believe that God leads me to recall people like Uncle Leon, Uncle Charles, and Aunt Emily so I can remember the rich heritage He gave me in my formative years. Good people who cared about two little boys and a little girl and instilled in them special characteristics that flavor our lives.

Miss N Update: We visited with Dr. Sidhu yesterday. She is an oncologist. Norma had a neuro-endocrine tumor removed. Actually, the removed a portion of her small intestine and her large intestine and her appendix. They also took 15 lymph notes to study. The tumor is a canceroid – not a carcinoma. Dr. Sidhu explained that a canceroid mimics a cancer but is not deadly. They found that it had spread to four of the 15 lymph nodes. Dr. Sidhu said that right now we are going to do nothing – but she wants to do a scan in two months to see if there is an spread. So the news is encouraging – praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Of course, with prayer partners like you, I feel very confident that God’s purpose will stand. Have a great day.

Agape’


Mr. Jim