“Things Old – Part 3”

I’d like to introduce you to Sleepy Dad, another one of my prized old things.  Sometime around August, 1983 I received Sleepy Dad as a gift from a very special lady, known in Fawn’s family as Grandma Taylor.  She was born Gladys Cornelius Blackwell in 1902, and at one time she was married to James Emory Marney.  They had a son named Frank Emory Marney, who was Fawn’s Grandfather.  When I met her, she lived near Wichita Falls, Texas.  She was 80 years old at the time I first met her.  Grandma Taylor was a “character”, to say the least, and from the stories that I’ve heard Fawn tell about that whole part of the family, she was evidently the matriarch of a whole bunch of “characters” in that branch of the family tree!

In order for you to understand why I appreciate Sleepy Dad so much, you have to know more about Grandma Taylor.  You see, she worked for many years for the Salvation Army in Wichita Falls.  I’m not sure what her exact position was there, let’s just say it must have had something to do with “Procurement”, or “Inventory Control”, or perhaps she worked in the “Quality Control” department, in charge of field trials.  From Fawn’s stories, and others, it seems that Grandma Taylor’s home and barn actually served as an offsite storage unit for the Salvation Army.  Perhaps they had limited storage there!  According to Fawn, whenever she visited Grandma Taylor’s house, she couldn’t wait to go out to the old barn and see what kind of children’s toys, clothes, nic-naks or jewelry might be out there.  She must have been the “mobile branch” of the Salvation Army in Wichita Falls as well, because it seems the trunk of her car was also always full of toys, clothes, dishes, and “junk”.

Grandma Taylor was an adventurous woman.  She was known to just show up in Spring and Conroe at the spur of the moment to visit the family, driving straight down from Wichita Falls, sometimes by herself and sometimes with a husband.  I never could keep track of her husbands.  All I remember was that there seemed to be a new one each time she came to visit.  But when she showed up, she’d always invite everyone out to the car, spring open the trunk, and tell each person to select a “gift” from the inventory.

Once, just before Alycia was born, Grandma Taylor showed up at our house (unexpectedly, of course).  This time, since I was new to the family and the father of her soon to be newest great-great-granddaughter, I was given a gift from the Salvation Army inventory…Sleepy Dad!  It’s one of the best gifts I’ve ever received, not only because of who it came from, but WHERE it came from!

She gave it to me as a simple, fun gift.  It was just something humorous for me, from a joy-filled lady who I could tell lived her life having fun every day.  I never saw her without a smile.  It was one of those wise smiles…the kind that says, “Yes, that’s right, that’s what I’m doing…what are you going to do about it?  Just watch this!”

I think she secretly loved putting people in uncomfortable states, like showing up unexpectedly for visits, or hauling around half of the Wichita Falls Salvation Army inventory in her trunk, or telling embarrassing stories about her family members.  She really didn’t care what you thought!  I found her fascinating and loved being around her and hearing her tell stories!

Grandma Taylor had no way of knowing it, but at the time she gave me Sleepy Dad, I had spent months in thought about what this whole fatherhood thing was going to be like.  I had wondered what this new baby was going to do to my life, how it would change our lives, and I think when I first laid eyes on Sleepy Dad, I just knew that I was destined to look exactly like that within a few months.  But then I decided that Grandma Taylor’s gift of Sleepy Dad was her way of telling me to just relax and enjoy the ride!  She seemed to be telling me, “Just look at this guy…there’s no way it could ever get that bad!”  Of course, she could have just as easily been telling me, with that wise smile of hers, “Here you go boy, here’s what you’re going to look like in a few months.  Have you EVER got it coming to you…just get ready!”

 I have no idea about the history or travels of Sleepy Dad prior to his landing at the Wichita Falls Salvation Army depository.  There are no markings on him of any kind.  I’ve looked on the internet to see if I could find anything that looked even remotely like him, with no luck.  I’m guessing he was made in the 50’s or 60’s, but I have no way of knowing for sure.  He’s just a cheap ceramic figure, but if you click on these pictures and enlarge them, you can see he’s in mint condition.  I’d love to meet the person who made him…what was he thinking?

Thanks Grandma Taylor for your sense of humor!