And the wheel turns again...

Godspeed, Aunt Sandie!

To paraphrase my Lil Sis, I think I'm getting a little tired of funerals...

My Mom is 4th of 10 kids ( 6 girls, 4 boys), a pigpile of descendants of Irish, English, and German lineage with strong Roman Catholic ties. My grandfather was a child prodigy, graduated high school at 15 and studied law at Fordham; Grandma was a full-time child wrangler. My grandparents grew into functioning alcoholics and the kids ran pretty wild, though I'm sure it seemed wilder to my Dad when he visited than it actually was, as his upbringing was considerably more buttoned-down. He was friends with Moe, 3rd from the top in that clan, and found my Mom through him.

Agnes (Sandie) Lane Gassman was #7, the 5th girl. Divorced, one daughter. Bleeding heart liberal, peace-loving flower child. She suffered from Reiter's Syndrome, a form of reactive arthritis. The research I did this morning, coupled with the family's take on her condition, leads me to believe she contracted it from a virulent strain of conjunctivitis in her youth. It's also likely genetic, but quite rare. Her body broke down piece by piece over the years; she had both hips replaced at least once, as well as repair work done on one ankle that left it fused permanently. She lived on Social Security disability after the divorce, and struggled with alcoholism and depression. We won't know what took her; they're not asking for an autopsy. She was found yesterday in her apartment.

She had a screwy sense of humor, was quite opinionated, and loved to interact with people, so it was hard on her when her daughter got married and started her own family... no one's fault of course, just life, so she'd combat it by calling every sibling and friend she was in good relations with to chat. She loved flowers and her grandkids, and because her condition limited her ambulation, she became quite the Internet troller.

I had the pleasure of traveling with her a few years back. My brother was in the Army, stationed at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri, and was graduating from basic training. Meara was in school and couldn't make the trip, and my folks declined as well, so I traipsed over to MO by Greyhound. Sandie lived in St. Louis; I met her there, we drove to Fort Leonard Wood, got a hotel, and went to his graduation the next day. She couldn't have been living on much, but she gave Cyril $100 as a present for graduating. I think that was kind of her all over, giving of herself where she could.

The realist part of me doesn't really believe in Summerland or heaven, but I use it for comfort. My Uncle Joe mentioned my dad's name in a post on the family website among the people that Sandie's with now...I was walking back to my desk a while ago, and the thought came to me, "well, now Dad will have someone up there to really debate with." My dad was as conservative as she was liberal, and I know he respected her opinionated nature, even while thinking she was completely misguided. I imagine some lively debates coming up as Obama proves himself and we as a country dig ourselves out of our economic mess. Wish I could see them in action...