Did you really think you'd get a good night's sleep on July 4th

Sleeping was always primitive and people came up with innovative ways to sleep somewhere "comfortably" and as cool as possible. The good news about July 4th in Corsicana was if you came to have fun you were in the right place. The bad news was if you came to get a good night's rest with air condition and privacy, you were gonna be sorely disappointed.

One year Dale and Lydia drove their van up into the carport, rented a window unit air condition and slept in the van every night with Mollie sleeping in the driver's seat. That's classy stuff right there.

Frank and Suzie drove the motor home as evidenced in the picture below and slept in it.


And then there was the "group sleeping" in the living room. Furniture had to be moved out of the house in order to make room for the maximum capacity. Hopefully there were no "gassy" sleepers or screaming babies. But both of those protocols were broken over the years. Even though people were sleeping in these photos, I couldn't resist taking a few pictures just to document the conditions. I was quick like a bunny for fear for my life. But seeing these now makes me so glad I did.








Other brilliant ideas included Big Frank sleeping in a lawn chair in the orchard and then in later years, pitched a tent there. But he was run out of his humble abode by ants. There was also yard sleeping when mattresses or cots were set up in the yard and hopefully it was cool enough to make it till dawn. But if you were yard sleeping, the sunrise wasn't your friend. And because some people may think these claims are just too far fetched to believe, I can back up almost all of these tales with photographic evidence.


And then 2 years ago Whitney got the Cadillac of tents that slept about 40 people and with Emma's help, spent 2 hours putting it up. However, because she couldn't talk anyone into joining her, she survived exactly 12 seconds in it. The one sleeping buddy she attracted, a skunk, was not welcomed with open arms and when she smelled his arrival, she made a hasty exit and moved inside the house.

And then way back in the day, there was the fold down couch in the den. It was prime sleeping in there because that's where the best AC was. The downside to this bed was Gran and Bessie got up very early and nobody could rattle pots and pans like Bessie Louise. As you can see it was best for little people because of the size. But in the winter, I loved to have a fire burning and snuggle into that bed and wait for the dinging of the clock on every hour. It was delightful. I still have that pillow case Meredith is sleeping on. Carrie and Brooke may be having a conversation about the logic of leaving the 2 little girls alone in the room. But to each small child's relief, no booger bears ever made an appearance during any July 4th celebration.

Sweet dreams little ones.