"Auntie" Caroline was my mom's younger sister, and the most glamorous we thought, as she was a stewardess when she was young. She wore her little hat with great panache.
My brother and I grew up abroad, and when we came to visit, we'd accompany my cousins to the train station to pick her up; to greet her, we would have Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline blaring on the cassette deck when she got into the car.
I remember when she met tall, dark, and handsome Sol - on whom I had a massive crush. When he'd come a-calling at my grandma's house, I always made sure to sit next to him on the sofa. When they got married, I remember feeling so grown up when we were allowed to attend the reception. It was at a Chinese restaurant, and everyone was so dressed up and beautiful.
Later in life she became quite an accomplished artist - sculpting and painting - and she and my mom - also an artist - would spend hours talking shop. Both kept very up to date on the arts and up-and-coming artists, and we would have vigorous discussions about "what was art". I remember one particular outing to a museum or gallery where there was a row of bricks stacked on the floor - not like a tower, but like a line on the floor. It was an "installation", and my mom and Caroline oohed and aahed over it, and I almost died from my eye roll, and pronounced it a scam.
Her passing makes me so sad, not only because she will be missed, but also because she is the end of an era.
"Auntie" Caroline was my mom's younger sister, and the most glamorous we thought, as she was a stewardess when she was young. She wore her little hat with great panache.
My brother and I grew up abroad, and when we came to visit, we'd accompany my cousins to the train station to pick her up; to greet her, we would have Neil Diamond's Sweet Caroline blaring on the cassette deck when she got into the car.
I remember when she met tall, dark, and handsome Sol - on whom I had a massive crush. When he'd come a-calling at my grandma's house, I always made sure to sit next to him on the sofa. When they got married, I remember feeling so grown up when we were allowed to attend the reception. It was at a Chinese restaurant, and everyone was so dressed up and beautiful.
Later in life she became quite an accomplished artist - sculpting and painting - and she and my mom - also an artist - would spend hours talking shop. Both kept very up to date on the arts and up-and-coming artists, and we would have vigorous discussions about "what was art". I remember one particular outing to a museum or gallery where there was a row of bricks stacked on the floor - not like a tower, but like a line on the floor. It was an "installation", and my mom and Caroline oohed and aahed over it, and I almost died from my eye roll, and pronounced it a scam.
Her passing makes me so sad, not only because she will be missed, but also because she is the end of an era.