From time to time when our parents wanted an opportunity to get away for an evening, Aunt Betty would come to the farm and babysit. She was actually my mom’s second cousin, but they grew up together and in a sign of respect, we children referred to her as Aunt Betty. Now Aunt Betty had to weigh every bit of 300 to 350 pounds. For a big woman, she was quick on her feet but could be somewhat awkward. We children loved our Aunt Betty because of two things. She was very warm and pleasant and she was an incredible cook. When we visited her home, she always had a freshly baked cake to share. And as a child, the cake looked like it had been built proportionally to Aunt Betty’s frame. It was huge! Now Aunt Betty brought one of her cakes with her for the visit and I hoped to get more than the one piece that children usually are allowed.
Aunt Betty was deathly afraid of mice. So, Aunt Betty asked me during dinner if I would mind staying awake with her in case the mice came out of the stove. So, after Aunt Betty settled my younger brothers and sister Diane at bedtime, Aunt Betty and I settled ourselves in the living room of the farmhouse for the evening. She could tell that I was struggling to stay awake with her. So, she pleaded with me not to fall asleep. I tried to stay awake as best I could. As we sat there, Aunt Betty shook me and said, “Buzzy. Listen. Can’t you hear that?” Sure enough, I could hear a faint scratching noise coming from the kitchen. We stood and peered around into the kitchen to have a peek. On the stove were two very small mice trying to get crumbs from under the electric burner. The scratching sound was from their tiny fingernails reaching for the small flecks of food from dinner. Aunt Betty turned red and panicked at the reality of her fears being in the next room. “Buzzy, you’ve got to do something!” Go in and shoo them away! Make them go away! I knew what would happen so I said, “Sure, Aunt Betty.” Just walking into the kitchen, the mice squeezed down into the stove through the opening between the porcelain top and the electric circular burner. I announced to Aunt Betty, “They’re gone now.” Aunt Betty peeked around the wall and seemed relieved at their disappearance. But at the same time, she continued to be anxious wondering when they would reappear. “Buzzy, you must stay awake.” And towards this end, she asked me if I wanted anything to eat that might help keep me awake. Food was a great motivator for the children in this family. And like any youngster with a sweet tooth, I saw this as a great opportunity. Now I didn’t want to go straight for Aunt Betty’s cake, so I thought I would start off with something little. “Oh, Aunt Betty. Why don’t you get me an apple. I think that will keep me awake.” Aunt Betty said, “Sure! I’ll get you an apple right away.” To be in the kitchen for the tiniest of moments, Aunt Betty would move in and out of the room as quickly as she could. It was funny to see Aunt Betty run as fast as she could to the refrigerator, because her body weight would jiggle. I remembered thinking this must be what Santa Claus is like getting around, you know, that belly shaking like a bowl full of jelly. Well, it wasn’t only the belly shaking, the arms and legs jiggled in a similar way. I remember that Aunt Betty always wore muumuus, which I’m sure was for comfort, ease of mobility and in this instance it seemed to work well for quick bursts into the kitchen. Many of the adults in our extended family were very large people. Girth was not viewed as a negative the way it is today. Our family viewed it as kind of a plus. To be large was like bigger than life. And then there was the jolliness that is usually associated with Santa. Big people were fun!
Well, after I finished the apple I went in for the kill. “Oh, Aunt Betty, Could I have a second piece of cake?” The cake Aunt Betty had brought to share was a white cake with coconut frosting and there were very thick layers of frosting between four cakes. She said, “Sure, Buzzy. Right away.” And she ran off to the cupboard. And true to form, she brought me a hunkin’ piece! I wasted no time getting this down thinking about whether I could parlay this into ice cream, too. Twenty minutes later, I queried, “Oh, Aunt Betty, why don’t you get me a dish of ice cream? That will help me stay awake.” And she said, “Sure, Buzzy right away.” And she ran off to the freezer to get some ice cream. Rather than the food working to keep me awake, it actually did the opposite. I could not hold my head up and began to fall asleep on the couch.
Aunt Betty was not happy, especially when the sounds started up again. I did not hear them the second time because I was asleep. “Buzzy, Buzzy, get up. Can you hear them?” She tugged on my arm and I kind of came out of the grogginess to find myself being pushed into the kitchen with Aunt Betty directly behind me. She managed to put a broom into my hands and wanted me to attack the mice on top of the stove. When I didn’t move quickly enough, she took the broom and started swinging at those mice. I can only imagine what those mice thought when they looked up to see this large woman in a brightly colored muumuu swinging a weapon of straw at their heads. Swoosh…Swoosh… back and forth she swung the broom. They dove into the stove. I don’t think she hit either of them. Aunt Betty turned from the stove to me. She said, “I brought you everything you asked for and you didn’t stay awake with me like you promised. Buzzy, are you a man or a mouse?” I looked down at the kitchen floor pondering Aunt Betty’s question and shrugged my shoulders. I then looked up and said, “squeak, squeak.”