Aunt Ozie's Dress Form

I never had a grandmother who filled my life with happy memories. When we sang Over The River and Through the Woods in school I didn't identify with the joy of going to grandmother's house. In fact, I don't remember even going to grandmother's house until I was in the 5th grade and it was not pleasant.

For a lot of years my mother and grandmother had been estranged because of one fact: my mother married a Baptist. My grandmother was a part of a denomination that believed they were the only ones going to heaven so associating with anyone else who said they were believers was unheard of. And being married to such persons definitely was out of the question.

However, after many years my daddy took the high road and went to see my grandmother. He explained that though she might not want to associate with him, she had a daughter and grandson to consider. So, it was arranged that we would go visit her.

It would have been on a Sunday afternoon because my daddy ran his neighborhood grocery store every other day. I remember the day vividly. It was a cloudy and cold winter day, kind of fitting the mood of the visit. Daddy parked on the street in front of the house, we walked up to the door, and my mother knocked. My mother's brother, my uncle John, answered the door. After retiring from civil service work in Washington he purchased the home where he and my grandmother lived together.

We were ushered in, and my mother went to my grandmother who was seated in a chair with a blanket over her legs. They exchanged their hellos, and mother called me over to speak to my grandmother. I was yet to see a smile from her and felt nothing but coldness from her obligatory hug.

Uncle John directed us to a sofa opposite where he and my grandmother sat. Initially, there was no conversation until my daddy in his normal, friendly way instituted some. Even then it was superficial at best, with no real depth, so much so that a fifth grader could recognize it. After a few minutes I asked if I could walk down to where I had seen some boys playing basketball. I left the house, feeling somewhat relieved. I was gone for probably half an hour and when I came back in it was not long before daddy said we'd be leaving. Quickly, everyone was on their feet and headed toward the door. My grandmother did give me a hug, a little tighter than before, and we made our way to the car.

I could tell from my parent's conversation on the way home that it was not a very pleasant visit for them. I did have a question for mother though. When my grandmother first hugged me, I noticed an unpleasant odor that was even more pronounced when we were leaving. I asked her if she had any idea what that was and she replied that she had a pretty good idea.

She asked if I noticed that little cloth bag that dangled from a strip of rawhide worn around her neck. I did see it and she said it was an acidfidity bag. It contained resin from a plant that a had a strong garlic-like, sulfuric odor which many believed would ward off sickness and disease. Some considered this folk medicine while others thought of it as superstitution. It was pungent to be sure.

If the story ended there, things would end on negative note but thankfully its just a preamble to something much better. I was fortunate as a child that