mrs beasley

oH MY GOSH....OH MY STINKIN GOSH....

.....whoops---i've already done that post....let me start again....

the year:1967

the place: Freeport, Illinois, population 25,000...a ranch-style house filled with a family of 3 boys, 2 girls, 2 parents, 1 dog and 2 cats....me? i'm the younger daughter---the 4th child....

(insert picture of me as a 9 yr old little girl---maybe someday)

its Christmas time....time for letters to Santa...and wishes to be granted....


pop-culture: Family Affair---TV sitcom before there was such a thing---premise:3 children (6 yr old twins Buffy and Jody and teenage sister Cissy)are orphaned and are moved to a penthouse apartment in New York to live with their bachelor play-boy (younger readers---that means he is a 'player') Uncle Bill and his man-servant/butler/personal assistant/cook Mr French---a very straight-laced British also-bachelor. let the antics begin! it ran til 1971.

its not about the tv show---its about Buffy's doll....Mrs Beasley----she talks.....she has a grandma's voice and says how much she loves you....she tells you her name and asks you questions....she loved me.



I was 9 yrs old and wanted Mrs Beasley....my memory is that she was priced at like $25....WAY too much for a doll....but she talks, mom. i love her.


christmas morning---you guessed it....there she is.....i cried. I WAS THE HAPPIEST 9 YR OLD LITTLE GIRL EVER! mrs beasley never left my side...we were so annoying together that my parents limited me to pulling her string 3 times at bedtime---that was all--i would wait between pulls---treasuring each moment----she was my confidante, my best friend...my everything! i even gave her a first name....mathilda...... i took her to college with me...when i had my tonsils out at 19...she went with me (hospital even gave her a bracelet!)


david accepted my mrs beasley as part of the family (with about 20 other stuffed animals) when we married...she had her own christmas stocking....she had her own wicker chair....she married Butter Bear and they were very happy together.

but i digress.

mrs. beasley started to show her age. she was thread-bare----her voice-box had long since stopped working---the string would just whirl around....her glasses were gone...she'd been mended many many times...legs had ripped off and been replaced (modern medicine bah!--i been reattaching body parts for years)....her hair was thin....if you touched her she ripped....sad to see the wasting away of a dear friend.


my mom saw mrs beasley and decided she needed a trip to the doll hospital---so she took her....and a few months later, Mrs beasley re-appeared at my home---looking as good as new! YAY!


fast forward (i know, its already too long to say fast forward---but i've already got you enthralled---right?)....fast forward a year or so and I am, as an adult, pawing thru my mom's closet----looking for shoes or purses---something to beg my mom to give me.....AND OH MY STINKIN GOSH-------------

THERE IS MRS stinkin MATHILDA BEASLEY----THE FIRST ONE---THE ONE THAT WENT TO THE DOLL HOSPITAL AND GOT REFURBISHED----BUT APPARENTLY NOT!


i confront my mom---she admits that the doll hospital couldnt help my mrs beasley---so mom bought me A NEW MRS BEASLEY (folks---this was before e-bay or online shopping---she had to do some major research to find a new old mrs beasley)!!!!!!!!!! but didnt have the heart to throw away the old one. i love my mom....and we both cried.


BONUS! I NOW HAD TWO MRS BEASLEYS! one for show and one for blow----its an old saying.


and children.......they could touch the newer mrs beasley---but not the old one (are you following this?)...mrs beasley was a prized member of the family...and stayed in her wicker chair.

fast forward (i know! i know!) about 15 years...and both mrs. beasleys were nearly dead....the old mrs beasley had holes going all the way thru her---the newer mrs beasley showed the wear and tear of kids playing.....so.....i let them go to a happier place.....and i cried....and the wicker chair sat empty for many many years.


fast forward (STOP IT---WE ALREADY DISCUSSED THIS AND YOU ARE STILL HERE!)....

christmas 2009....family and grandbabies all around---gone thru umpteen million presents---all done...and dAVid, as my husband is prone to do....announces..."wAIT! THERE IS ONE MORE!"...the girls are all atwitter and video cameras are being set a-ready...out comes a gift bag....duh duh duh (say it with the impending important event style---you know what i mean--and you did it, didnt you! :))

watch the video.....





and i cried.


MY poor sons-in-laws----my reaction was quite the outburst! my sister, Eden....understanding my emotion (she was there for the original Mrs Beasley)----crying....david....crying....the girls....were they crying? hmmmmm?.....dont remember...but its not about them....

and she now sits in her wicker chair.....for another 40 years.