“afraid to eat anything the rest of the relatives brought”
now THAT is sad ...
BTW, I totally get the notion of “good” aunts too ...
sad too, but once you get old enough, pretty much all you can do is shake your head and laugh when you get tipsy enough to share some of the stories with friends. naturally, it turns out pretty much everyone has such stories to tell.
back in the day when Chris Rock was still funny instead of just being embittered, his funnest stuff was based on family stories
... but for all that they’re still family. One aunt in particular had a troubled life to the point that the only song played at her funeral was “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” We all pitched in to bury her. No point in spiting her once she was gone. Unlike some of the others, she did try, at least when she was younger but it kept dragging her back down, whatever “it” was.