THING: WHAT-NOT

Yes Irene, what-not is a legitimate term found in Webster’s Dictionary. A what-not is a set of open shelves for bric-a-brac ( laymans terms-a place when you placed personal or loved memorabilia).

Thinking back through our what-not, it consisted of items that had a history all their on. My contribution has a history as well. The item has little monetary value, but to me it is priceless.

A short history for the item. My sister and I ( twelve and nine respectively) had picked cotton for one week. For the week we probably netted a cool $10.00 apiece.

As we walked past the Five and Dime General Store, my $10.00 was ” burning a hole in my pocket” ( an old Southern term referring to gotta spend some money). I, being an implusive shopper did not have the slighest idea what I was looking for. For some reason I was drawn to a ceramic statue of a brown dog hovering over his food bowl. My reasoning was two fold, one it was a replica of my first dog Brownie and two would my mom like it. I cannot remember the purchase price, but it was probably less than a dollar.

Arriving home, I handed my mom the brown paper bag as if it were a king’s ransom. Opening the bag she commented, ” Brownie will look great on the what-not.

Brownie the ceramic dog sat on the family what-not until my mom’s passing in 2007′. I have Googled the figurine on the internet seeking more history for a brown dog hovering over his food bowl, but to no avail. I have surmised Brownie is a one-of-a-kind solely intended for my mom’s what-not.

Currently Brownie has a second home at our residence sitting on a chest of drawers in our bedroom. After eighty plus years he is still hovering over the food bowl waiting to be fed. It is almost impossible to miss Brownie as you wake every morning. It is also impossible to fathom how a one-dollar purchase eighty plus years ago has so much history behind his sad eyes. Maybe, just maybe as he celebrates another year I will throw the dog a bone.

Be safe.