Daddy's parents, Poppa Conley & Mama Conley, lived in Blake Apartments in Sheffield. Poppa was a thin, feeble, sickly man. He always carried a cane. His snow white hair contrasted with his black bushy eyebrows. Those eyebrows looked like two caterpillars perched above his eyes. They were always bouncing and twitching as he laughed and talked.
It was Christmas morning. We were all playing with the new toy that Santa had brought. The phone rang. Poppa Conley had just died. Daddy did not seem surprised. I had heard about death and dying. I had watched Marshall Dillon send many men to "Boot Hill", but this was the first time it happened to someone so close. I didn't know how to feel. I asked Daddy if I should stop playing with my new toy. He told me that Poppa would want me to enjoy this Christmas day. I resumed playing, but it didn't feel the same that it felt before the phone call.
We went to the funeral home for the visitation. I had to tip toe to see into the casket. There he lay. His skin was very dark. He looked like a skeleton dressed to go to church. He was so still. Even the caterpillars weren't twitching. Mama's sister, Aunt Alice, kept us kids the next day while Mama and Daddy went to Poppa's funeral. I believe Poppa was 96 years old when he died. I wished I had known him better.
Poppa left this world with everything he brought into it - nothing! It doesn't matter if we are rich or if we are poor like Poppa, we won't take it with us. 1 Timothy 6:7 "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." The key is to leave this world in better shape than we found it.
It was Christmas morning. We were all playing with the new toy that Santa had brought. The phone rang. Poppa Conley had just died. Daddy did not seem surprised. I had heard about death and dying. I had watched Marshall Dillon send many men to "Boot Hill", but this was the first time it happened to someone so close. I didn't know how to feel. I asked Daddy if I should stop playing with my new toy. He told me that Poppa would want me to enjoy this Christmas day. I resumed playing, but it didn't feel the same that it felt before the phone call.
We went to the funeral home for the visitation. I had to tip toe to see into the casket. There he lay. His skin was very dark. He looked like a skeleton dressed to go to church. He was so still. Even the caterpillars weren't twitching. Mama's sister, Aunt Alice, kept us kids the next day while Mama and Daddy went to Poppa's funeral. I believe Poppa was 96 years old when he died. I wished I had known him better.
Poppa left this world with everything he brought into it - nothing! It doesn't matter if we are rich or if we are poor like Poppa, we won't take it with us. 1 Timothy 6:7 "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out." The key is to leave this world in better shape than we found it.