Aunt Patty lived up in the foothills, about a twenty hour drive from town.
She lived far enough out that she had all of the peace & quiet she could handle, but stayed close enough that she could drive to town for her groceries & make it here for family celebrations.
I always wondered why every one of us only ever saw Aunt Patty around the winter holidays. She was close enough every one of us could see her all the time, but it was rare. Also, the family never went to see her, Patty always came to see us. After I learned to drive, I came to find out that was because Aunt Patty was a cannabis farmer, & our folks did not approve of that shady business. Once I learned about her cannabis operation, you couldn’t have kept myself and others away! I had never even smoked marijuana before, I just knew it seemed dangerous & intriguing… plus our parents were dead set against it, which made it all the more appealing to a rebellious teenager. Aunt Patty was absolutely cool, but also warned myself and others away repeatedly. Patty did not want my parents to find out & get mad at her for exposing their child to cannabis. Although it was her livelihood, Patty rarely even smoked cannabis, she understood that our parents had a bizarre view of things. I went out to visit Aunt Patty many times, & not once did every one of us ever smoke cannabis. Patty did show myself and others around, & expose myself and others to the botanical science behind a cannabis grow operation, but sadly she never offered myself and others any weed.