Introduction

A gem, a jewel, a national treasure, her big beautiful eyes and her wide, endearing smile will captivate your heart and enslave you forever.

I have to admit that the title of this book, Telling It Like It Is: The Remarkable Life Experiences of my Aunt Edna, may be a bit misleading. My Aunt Edna is about seeing the world like it is, living her life the best way she can, and helping anyone who happens to cross her path. Aunt Edna is also a loving, caring person--the kind of person who would pick up a wounded animal and try to heal any physical injury it may have. Likewise, she would take in a person needing love or encouragement and put a bandage on any emotional hurts she finds. Let me take a minute to put on my artist smock and pick up my brushes and art palette. Then I'll be ready to paint a vivid portrait of Aunt Edna--one that's real and in living color. At this point, I'm officially declaring that although I'm talking about my mother's younger sister, it is clear to me that anyone resembling Aunt Edna or possessing the same exceptional charisma and character should be referred to as an "Aunt Edna" and henceforth become a noun and a household word.

Big things come in small packages; the BEST things come in small packages too

It is important to mention right from the start a very significant fact with respect to Aunt Edna--size is not a factor. Good things come in small packages as do big things. Aunt Edna is the epitome of the word BIG. Aunt Edna is 92 years old, and I should tell you honestly that she was taller in her earlier years. Today she stands slightly under five feet tall and tips the scale at less than 85 pounds. But allow me to describe her better. She is the perfect picture of that little old lady who drives to church every Sunday. Merely looking at her would instantly set two Good Samaritans against each other in armed combat to defend her honor, or she would attract every self-proclaimed hero (with or without cape) to her side protect her from harm. Aunt Edna is the little old lady that every Boy Scout dreams of taking by the arm and stopping traffic to escort her across the street--even if she doesn't want to go.

Our Aunt Edna goes "malling" pronunciation [maúl-ing] (the practice of frequenting malls to socialize or shop). In Aunt Edna's case, it is the practice of frequenting malls before the shops open for the express purpose of exercising through power walks or slow walks or merely getting out of the house. Everyone walks in the same direction so as not to hinder fast or normal walkers. Aunt Edna goes malling at a shopping center in Hyattsville, Maryland almost every morning from 8 to 10 a.m. when the shops open for business. Sometimes when she gets tired of walking the around mall concourse in one-directional circles, she sits on the benches watching shoppers going about their daily business. She often dines at a favorite restaurant in the Prince George's Plaza and continues to drive her car almost everywhere she goes. She's an expert at riding the Metro Rail System in Washington, Maryland and Virginia and enjoyed the maiden voyages on the Silver Line to Tysons Corner and Dulles Airport in Virginia. Recently, she resumed her line dancing classes with her friends. She had to put that activity on the back burner only because she fractured her hip in three places.

She has always been a cultural aficionado with a touch of class when it comes to the social circuit of life--going to the cinema, operas and dinners in downtown Washington DC more often than I do. Her diminutive physical statue is totally overshadowed by the larger-than-life essence, unabated charm and integrity that radiate from her. And while she possesses so many positive attributes, she surrounds herself in modesty. Her humility is deeply rooted and sincere. She absolutely refuses to boast, often dismissing her entire life as being ordinary, insisting that she leads an uninteresting life. I absolutely must contradict her modest definition of her nondescript lifestyle with two words that I think are appropriate. ... au contraire!

What better way to convince you that Aunt Edna is anything but uninteresting than to have you read it for yourself in the following passage that I wrote about her in 2013:

As a matter of fact, she IS the boss of you

To tell the truth, little old ladies who live nondescript lives will not be found in my family. Giving much love and credit to my own mother, Aunt Edna heads the list of the most beautiful people in my life. She's that special aunt, you know the one. Aunt Edna can be described as petite and belle — tiny and cute. She is under five feet tall and never weighed more than 100 pounds, fully clothed or soaking wet. Everyone who saw her as a child vividly exclaimed, "She is so cute, just like a little doll." They still stop and stare today and can't refrain from those "Isn't she cute" remarks, although she says she wishes they wouldn't make such a fuss over her. Aunt Edna was the fourth of seven children. She was always a live wire, and we all knew that Edna ruled! She was the boss of everyone, including her older siblings. She knew how to throw her weight around and make her 80 some odd pounds count. She always knew what she wanted in life and she got it. My Aunt Edna was a mover and a shaker and still is today. She had no doubts about where she was going, and she succeeded in everything she did. If I were to use her own words to describe her, I'd have to say that Aunt Edna is a "pistol."

A veritable treasure trove of colorful expressions

However, nothing in my lifetime memories would indicate that Aunt Edna was anything but an angel. She is the most loving person I know, with a touching, natural empathy and a caring personality. She took care of her parents and her siblings, even those several years her senior. Aunt Edna still found time and had lots of love for other people in her life — family and friends of all generations. And she called us all "Precious." That word worked wonders for everyone. To be called "Precious" by her is one of the greatest gifts any of us could get from anyone. To Aunt Edna, we are all "Precious," and I swear the word came out as gold dust. Everyone wanted to be her "Precious." It seemed that we children would jostle each other just to get into the position of being sprinkled...