While I am comfortable assuming that every day on the calendar includes many people of note sharing it as their birthday, I can confidently state that my recently passed birthdate of Aug. 30 is a rare one that truly boasts an impressive collection of exceptional people.
I don’t include myself in this group despite my exceptional height, but others born on Aug. 30 include Ted Williams and Warren Buffett, both clearly on their respective Mount Rushmore of hitting a baseball and investing. A third person, less well-known, shares our birthday and would headline a Mount Rushmore dedicated to sharing warmth and unconditional love. This exceptional person is a long-time Upper Valley resident who also happens to be my wife’s Aunt Roseanne.
This Aug. 30th, while I reached the frequently attained milestone of turning 60, Aunt Roseanne reached the remarkable milestone of turning 99!
As I noted in a prior column, an impetus for relocating to the Upper Valley this summer was to spend more quality time with family, including Aunt Roseanne. We are fortunate that a reasonable bike ride from our home via the Northern Rail Trail leads us to the Lebanon Green, a short distance from Aunt Roseanne’s apartment, where she is always waiting with a welcoming smile and an offer of a sweet treat.
I first met Aunt Roseanne more than 30 years ago when I was a slightly intrepid new boyfriend trying to impress my then-girlfriend’s family. I wasn’t nervous about these meetings because I have an unhealthy confidence in my ability to be charming on demand. While some may accurately describe me as cynical and cranky, I can also be easily transformed into a more cheerful mood by the positive energy of others. That’s what Aunt Roseanne does.
During my early years of knowing her, she won me over with her kindness and by showing loads of affection to my children, something they were somewhat unfamiliar with due to my dispassionate nature ingrained in me by my stoic parents. In fact, my son christened her “the kissy lady” because he knew whenever he saw her, there would be a shower of hugs and kisses directed at him and his sister, just like she did with her three grandsons. While she never strives to be the focus of attention at family gatherings, it is impossible not to be drawn in by her huge heart, sly sense of humor and positive outlook.
Over the years, I have continued to be the beneficiary of her loving nature and her uncanny ability to make everyone she interacts with feel like they are her favorite person (despite my wife’s protestations, privately she has told me that it is, in fact, me).
I am especially appreciative of Aunt Roseanne’s affection because of my limited, and uneven, history with the women relatives in my life. Though I saw her the most of any relative outside of my immediate family, my interaction with my maternal grandmother was infrequent and it would be charitable to describe her personality as anything more favorable than “challenging.”
In trying to illustrate her “challenging” personality, I leave it to you to determine which of my memories you find more illuminating: the time when she refused to prepare me a tuna lunch when I was a 10-year-old and lectured me because I preferred to eat it simply in a bowl as opposed to the “proper way” in a sandwich; or her refusal to join in for pictures at my wedding because she felt slighted by her seat placement. We do have one picture of her with her hands intentionally covering her face. I must confess, she did earn some begrudging respect for her ability to cling to her principles of bitterness so strongly into her late 70s.
I can’t claim that my father’s side proved to be any more charitable. When my first child was an infant, my father’s sister asked to visit us to meet our son, driving over an hour so she could spend a full two hours explaining to me how awful my parents were. While it didn’t faze me, I felt bad for my wife who had prepared a delightful array of sandwiches and finger food. Ah, my family!
In contrast, I can share that every holiday celebration with Aunt Roseanne that brought me to the Upper Valley over the years has included at least one of her scrumptious desserts, made to my preference, as well as an admonishment to my wife that she dare not utter a disparaging word about my overindulgence. This type of allegiance is hard to find and easy to cherish.
Because of the wonderful memories we have created over the years, with hopefully many more to come, it is my birthday wish that everyone should be so lucky as to have an Aunt Roseanne in their life.
The writer retired to Enfield in July 2026. He can frequently be seen at a sporting event, rallying on a pickleball court, biking the Northern Rail Trail, or kayaking on Lake Mascoma. He can be reached at vnewstalltales@gmail.com.