Up to this point, I really haven't gotten into a lot of detail about my dealings with my aunts and uncles. They rarely had that much impact on my life. They were generally just these people my parents would take us to see every once in a while.
I need to tell you about my mother's sister Mard. Mard was one year older than my mother. Mard had some problems that were not apparent to me when I was growing up and no one told me there was anything wrong with her.. Later on, she would be described to me as "somewhat retarded."
It may not have been actual retardation, but some sort of neurological disorder. Mard was really good at English and spelling, but she was terrible at math. Because she could not comprehend math, she stayed in high school two years longer than usual. This meant that for one year, my mother and Mard were in the same grade. My mother graduated from high school, but Mard had to continue going back the next year.
Mard got tormented quite a bit at school. The tormenting got worse after my mother went to college. Mard came home from school one day in tears. Grandma Bend told her she didn't have to go to school any more, and she didn't.
When I was a kid, the general understanding was that if an adult told you to do something, you were to do it, no questions asked. One snowy day in Fort Sumner, Mard saw Loyd and I sitting around the house. She said, "You kids need to be outside playing. Put your jackets on and go outside."
Loyd and I did what she said and went outside. Dad was out there working on something. He sees us and asks, "What are you doing out here?"
"Mard told us to come out here."
He started getting angry. "You two get back in the house, right now!"
We went inside. Dad went up to Mard and started yelling at her. "THESE BOYS ARE SICK! THEY ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO GO OUTSIDE! YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS TELLING THEM WHAT TO DO!" It was the first time I ever saw Dad yell at someone who wasn't Loyd, Mom, or me. And I thought for certain that he had plenty more yelling left in him and he was going to start on Loyd and me. But he didn't. At this point, I somewhat realized that there might have been something wrong with Mard.
Mard eventually got married to this guy named Hed. Hed was of at least average intelligence, but he wasn't able to drive a car. He had a hard time holding on to a job. No one in the family really liked him except for Mard. Mard lived on disability. My Dad always said that Hed just sponged off of Mard. However, I'm pretty certain that Mard always longed for a near-normal life, and if she was ever going to find someone to love her, this was going to be it.
One day, toward the end of the school year, we were told we were going to see Mard and Hed graduate from college. I thought that this was quite an accomplishment. We drove up to Roswell, where Eastern New Mexico University had a satellite campus. We went to the area where the ceremony took place. Mard and Hed were the only ones who received degrees. I thought this was rather odd, especially considering that most of the other people in the room kind of appeared to be "off" somewhat. Just three months ago, I found out that she and Hed had actually graduated from Job Corps.
Mard and Hed never had children. They remained married for 22 years, until 12/31/96, when Mard was struck by a vehicle while she was trying to cross the street.
I felt really bad because I hadn't really kept in touch with Mard after I grew up and knew that things weren't right with her and Hed. It was even worse because she had called my Mom's house at Christmas while I was there and I was in a rush to hand to phone off to someone else. I never knew that would be the last time I would hear her voice.
One interesting aspect of the relationship Loyd and I had with Mard is that we saw so much of her while we were growing up. Since she lived with Grandma Bend most of the time, she was always there at the house when we were there. The other cousins on my Mom's side of the family did not get to know her anywhere near as well as we did. I do wonder what their impressions of Mard are.
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