AUNT CERNA

My Aunt Cerna, married to my Uncle Jerome, my father’s brother and youngest sibling, was such a defining part of my life. I have known my cousin Shari three times as long as I knew her mother, yet I remember so much about my aunt and her expressions.

Aunt Cerna’s signature smile stays with me, along with her impish superstitious ways. Nothing was funnier than watching the movie “My Big Fat Greek Wedding” and seeing the star of the show walk down the wedding aisle being spat upon for good luck. It brought memories of my Aunt Cerna uttering Kinahoreh Puh Puh Puh to ward off the evil eye.*

Then there was her insistence on putting a red bendel (ribbon) on all things new, such as a car, a baby’s crib, a stroller, or even a houseplant. Anything that you wanted to have “good luck” with had to have a red bendel.

I’ll never forget when I started dating my husband in 1969, and my aunt was at the house. She whispered to me later that Arnee’s sideburns were too long, cautioning, “There are other fish in the sea.” She soon realized they were only stylish sideburns of the day.

Speaking with Cousin Shari frequently (practically daily lately, as our mothers before us did) allows us to feel the closeness we had growing up in the Mark family. Six years my junior, until her mother’s untimely passing, Shari practically visited weekly along with her parents, and often her two older brothers joined the camaraderie. My mother had plenty of homemade treats to entice.

Just as Aunt Cerna, gone before her time (she left this world in 1981 at the young age of 51), was one of a kind, so was her name. Other than my aunt, I’ve never heard the name Cerna; have you?

If I could be granted a request to bring back ten people from the dead, Aunt Cerna would surely be high on my list. Those were the best of times. That’s why there’s more about Aunt Cerna in the book I wrote about our family, Kitchen Talk: Sharing Family Tales.

I’ve been teasing long enough about publishing, and I’m determined to make that happen. I know everyone wants to learn more about the cast of characters from a family that could be yours. As you read along, you’re sure to say, “Sharon’s Aunt Cerna was my Aunt ….”

While you won’t be calling Shari to rehash those stories, there’s sure to be someone in your life who you’ll want to converse with and relive the joyful memories. The older we get, the more we enjoy the most mundane thoughts of daily life with family and friends.

For example, Shari and I get a kick out of discussing memories of our mothers going shopping with our paternal aunt. Neither of our mothers ever drove a car, and Aunt Fannie was their weekly chauffeur. She devotedly drove her sisters-in-law to the local supermarkets, making the rounds to find the lowest prices on the basic items such as butter and eggs.

The gas would cost more than what they saved, but they made it a ritual. Their lives may have been simple and family-oriented, but their characters were colorful. Shari and I can attest to that.

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*AI properly describes the meaning of the saying, "‘Kinahoreh’ (no evil eye) is a Yiddish phrase used to prevent bad luck. ‘Puh Puh Puh’ imitates spitting three times. This physical act reinforces the curse-blocking ritual. Jews use this combination to protect good news from jealousy or bad spirits.”