Aunt Hazel, Uncle Charlie

I have a beautiful fall memory that strikes a pose in my memory nodes on cool autumn evenings. The memory gives the feel of comfort and crisp, clean, spaghetti with meatballs. On one occasion, my parents stepped out for an evening soiree in the early eighties. They needed their time to cut the rug and knock down a few Genesee's (my Pops, in particular). I was being "watched, babysat" by my Great Aunt and Great Uncle. The old school vibe of the lovely couple soaked into my receptacles and gave we the warm fuzzies. Twas a Saturday evening and Penn State was playing football. My Aunt fed me her world famous spaghetti and meatballs. She was worldly known as a hard ass, but she had a soft spot for me. I knew, though, she wasn't to be crossed. She had my respect and I genuflected in the form of my best manners. Outspoken, she had that encrypted on her main frame. My Uncle, a WW2 vet, was quiet and cool, nice and smooth. The ying to her yang, Klassic. He had a watch and clock repair shop in their basement. I imagine evenings filled with him tinkering with all that tick tocking of his clocks in stock. His quiet time, counting time and fixing the gears of Seiko, Timex, Hamilton, Rolex and all the other time keepers of the era. Timeless quality. Dinner was served and cleaned up. I found a spot on the sofa and watched the Penn State game with Uncle Charlie. The feeling was so dreamlike as I dozed off into the crowd noise at Happy Valley as it responded to Todd Blackledge throwing TD's. My Aunt Hazel sat with us after the kitchen dishes were washed. Later, I showed her my collection of Smurfs. Some Smurfs weren't so Smurfy. They were missing accessories or looked flat out Smurfless. I had them in my hands alot, I didn't want Aunt Hazel to think that I didn't treat my toys respectfully. I was reluctant to show them, her impression was poignant to me. This is what I remember. They lived in Rohrerstown, Pennsylvania. Rohrerstown is like mac and cheese in my memory banks. I could go there and be centered, find my comfort zone. Sofa, PSU football, meatballs, a television set with rabbit ears. Absolutely Smurftacular.