VISITING AUNT BUCKY

August 25-27
It’s time for our visit with Ruth McMann…Aunt Bucky…Frank’s aunt who is 94 years young! Last time we visited Bucky was in 2001...nine years ago. Besides age, not really too much of a change in her. She is still sharp witted, loves to tell off-color jokes, watches TV game shows, and writes poetry. She climbs the steep stairs up and down to her bedroom in the house she was moved into when she was 15 months old. Bucky is one of five sisters and the last surviving McMann; she never married and was an executive secretary in the local paper mill for 50 years. Thankfully, she has a roommate…her great nephew, Rick, lives there and watches over her…or maybe she watches over him!

Covered Bridge Crossing the Connecticut River Close to Bucky's

Bucky lives in Gilman, Vermont not too far from the New Hampshire state line. For us to visit for a few days, we had to find a campground for Pearl that was close enough for our daily visits. We found a pretty little place in Jefferson, NH just right across the road from Santa’s Village…The Lantern Motel and Campground. Perfect for our brief time there.

PRETTY CAMPGROUND IN NEW HAMPSHIRE

RED NOSES AND MARSHMALLOWS

Frank also lived in Gilman for a short time during his boyhood. His father ran the local drugstore with an attached “manual” bowling alley behind it. Frank reminisced about those days of free ice cream cones at the drugstore’s fountain and setting up the bowling pins for he and his friends. Frank and his sister, Patty, had lots of attention from a rather large family of relatives who lived in Gilman. Frank was the only grandson so who do you think was the spoiled one??

Guess Frank was reminiscing so much that he let his foot get a little heavy on the gas pedal…we got pulled over by the local “Gendarmes”!! Aunt Bucky, being in the front seat, was going to have her say to the officer…” You can’t give my nephew a ticket, he came to visit me; haven’t seen him in nine years and I’m 94 years old”…she really played him! Guess it worked…Frank got off with a Warning!

After the “run in with the law”, we drove to a local producer of Maple Syrup who Bucky knew to make a purchase. We bought a gallon of “fancy” for $42.00...later pricing it in stores it was over $60.00...pays to know a “local”…and Aunt Bucky!

The first evening ended with dinner out in Littleton, NH…always a treat for Bucky; she was very quick to tell us she doesn’t cook any more! We took her home with plans to pick her up the next morning and drive her to Jefferson to spend the day with us at the campground.

Frank drove over to Gilman the following day…carefully watching his speed. Bucky was ready and anxious to go see “our camper”…she had no idea what to expect, but I think she thought it was a little trailer of sorts. She was so surprised when she got her first glimpse of Pearl, but even more so when she came inside and found all the comforts of home!
A delightful day was spent with her. We grilled hamburgers for lunch, watched some of her favorite game shows on TV, found new jokes for her on the internet, looked at pictures of Patty’s new grandbaby that had been sent to me on Facebook, and then we sat outside and enjoyed the sunny afternoon and the company of each other.

All too soon, it was time to drive Bucky back to Gilman. It was sad saying our goodbyes…all the while thinking that it might well be the last time we will ever see her. Ninety-four is certainly getting up years, but her grandmother lived to be a 106! There is that possibility we will see her in another nine years…2018??