I telephoned her tonight and we had a very nice conversation for about an hour. We hadn't seen or talked to each other in seventeen years! Hard to believe she's in her 70s now, and she's even acquired a little-old-lady voice that I don't remember from before.She's still in good health, except for some back and hip problems.
We talked about Scott a little bit and she told me a few things I found a bit shocking. "He's been in trouble," she said.
Turns out he's an alcoholic. She had to spend about $13,000 getting him treatment. He's been dry for about two months now, she told me.
She also said that he has to go to court next month because he was driving while drunk and sideswiped another car. He was injured and is currently wearing some sort of ankle brace. Also, he's not working and is running out of money.
I had no idea.
He's back in Minneapolis now, but he's been living all over the place... Seattle, Florida, Tennessee... and Jo told me something I didn't quite understand fully. Some time ago, he had pneumonia, coupled with something else, and in order to save him, for some reason they had to induce a coma, which he remained in for several months.
I feel like I'm not getting the full story and I'm wondering what's wrong. I kind of feel bad for him. I promised Jo I wouldn't mention to him that she told me any of this... but I still want to get to know my cousin -- I've always felt an inexplicable sort of kinship with him -- and I hope he'll feel free to open up and tell me what's been going on in his life.
Jo also gave me Aunt Carol's phone number and I promised I'd call her. She's 93 now and residing in some sort of assisted living facility in Akron where she has her own little apartment. She can't walk anymore -- she's in a wheelchair -- but other than that, she's still in relatively good health for her age and her mind is still sharp as a tack.
Now I'm feeling really bad that I've neglected to keep in contact with her and have let so many years go by. She's the only one left of my mom's family of thirteen, and was always my favorite aunt. I'm just glad to hear she's still in the land of the living and not doing too badly. I think I want to rent a car and drive to Ohio and visit her before it's too late.
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