A Coonskin Cap And A Pigeon

Growing up on the Knob, we lived a pretty laid-back kind of life. It didn't take much to keep us occupied and our entertainment came from our own imagination built upon the television programs we watched every week. 

It was in the mid 1950s when  Davy Crockett became every little American boy’s hero. My little brother was no exception. He ran through the woods chasing imaginary Indians and slewing bears, jumping over huge rocks, and swinging from grapevines, Davy Crockett style... 


It was getting on into the summer and Glen had outgrown his winter coat. Mom declared a special day for him to go with her to town and put a new one on the lay-away plan. The first one he saw was a Davy Crockett coat and he knew it was made just for him... Attached to one of the sleeves was a genuine-fake-coonskin cap. Glen knew he would be the envy of every boy in his third grade class if he had that coat; but it carried a whopping price tag of $9.50... A pretty good price for a little boy's coat in the year of 1956. Poor mom, she knew how much he wanted the coat so she began to figure out ways to pay for it...Selling her blackberries would make up for a big part of it, and she could always work a little harder on her job at the factory where she earned her paycheck by how many chairs she upholstered during the day. She would manage, somehow. So she paid a fifty cents down payment on the coat and they left...

As the winter winds started to blow, the big day came. Mom and Glen went to town to pay his new coat out of lay-away. That coonskin cap was lying right on top of the box, all soft and fury just waiting for little brother to slip it on…That he did. He went strutting down the street all smiles and feeling good in his brand new Davy Crockett coat and that special cap....My goodness! No boy ever had one any nicer.

How many of you remember the store signs that hung out across the sidewalk? Store names were attached to the buildings… Well, if you can remember them then you must remember it was a gathering place for the pigeons in most cities. More than one person can recall an unpleasant encounter with a pigeon.  Just as Mom and Glen walked past Gym Supply Store right under the sign, it happened!  Well, it was not pretty what landed on Glen’s brand new genuine coonskin cap. To this day my brother hates pigeons, and who could blame him...After all, it was Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier's memory that got splattered. Life could not get any worse for an eight-year-old boy...

Often we wake in the morning feeling on top of the world and then something happens, "splat!" our life gets turned into a sour note. We are hit with a fistful of problems. We ask ourselves, "Why did I even get out of bed this morning?" What a lousy day! But, you know what? ~ Every moment that unfolds in our day is time God gave us and we must commit our thoughts, our plans, our actions, and our reactions, to Him.

When I get to thinking this is just “any old day” filled with troubles and trials, something will remind me that the Lord gave this day to me. So, I need to be thankful for it and keep it special. It is not just any old day. It is a brand new day to start over, redo, and make amends for the mistakes of yesterday.  Time to swing on a memory and think back to the happy days of our life...to try once again to find pleasure in simple things, little things, and thank God for the blessings of each moment He gives us to enjoy our family and friends. That is the way I see it...


Walk with God,
Mary Frances King



Dear Lord,
Remind me, to open myself to Your happiness each day, each moment. Help me not to let life's pressures and frustrations cloud my ray of vision of Your unending joy...Amen!