Ciocia B

A rather wonderful person left this planet today. The famous Aunt Bert (she of the Queens Aunts and better known by her gangsta name of Ciocia B) slipped away in her sleep in the wee hours of the morning. Bert was exuberant and enthusiastic and full of such buoyant interest in all doings in the life of her loved ones and of her local community. She was the glue, the actual glue, of the family and tonight I have been wrestling with the outcome of her loss not just to the family, but to the many people whose lives she's impacted. She was practically a legend in the Queens community that she lived in for nearly 70 years. I have been incredibly sad today, had a few spontaneous crying jags (one on the streets of the Upper West Side this afternoon--so unseemly!) but I can't imagine how our lives as the East Coast family will cohese without her. She was an ageless imp, a generous soul and someone I loved very much.

There is so much I could and should write about her. I will, but in the meantime I refer you to a previous post written on her birthday in 2008.

Rest in peace, Ciocia. We love you.