The toy maker waited until his wife fell asleep before returning to the woodshop at his Shadow Hill home to continue making 100 miniature roosters for the holidays. Scott Cappiello, 83, is short on time and energy when his wife is diagnosed with dementia.
I was hoping to add a duckling and a bunny to the list of wooden toys for foster kids each year. All that remains is that he randomly picks up small children and their mothers when he finds them on the street or in the aisles of supermarkets.
But Gladys comes first. The ducks and rabbits will have to wait another year. He only has time for his dick.
His first wooden toy was a miniature deer in the early 1980s, while he was still teaching a woodworking class at California State University, Los Angeles.
They were made for children at the Hathaway Children's Home in Highland Park who didn't go home for Christmas. The children stayed, as she did when she was 12, at Hathaway House, one of her many temporary stints in the foster care system.
“I knew how they felt because I felt the same,” says the toy maker. “I had to take care of dozens of these children. We spent hours collecting the miniature deer.
He remembered his inspiration for it all: an artist who came for Christmas 1952 to teach children how to draw and work with different colors.
“I thought he wasted his time coming here for us. I didn't have to do this. This really impressed me.
Thirty years later, the toy manufacturer itself was in decline.
"Like any kid, if I get some clothes for Christmas I'll be disappointed, but if I get a toy or two, wow!" - she says.
It's "Wow!" A toy maker is now looking for someone who will look children in the eyes when they take a miniature deer or rooster out of their pocket.
No batteries, no instructions, no warnings. A simple homemade toy.
He probably would never have known he had a talent for carpentry if he hadn't had a teacher for a few months when he was 10 and been told it was time to move again and pack his bags.
“He had a desk and equipment in his classroom for the students, but I was the only one who wanted to use it,” she said. “He saw that I had talent, and when I left, he gave me these tools and told me to keep doing it. I still have them."
Cappiello belongs to Epsilon Pi Tau, an international tech community. His department consists mainly of former workshop teachers who have mastered this technology. They met at San Gabriel High School this week to collect wooden toys that they will donate and randomly distribute to children during the holiday season.
“I know it sounds corny,” the toy maker said, “but we all truly believe that it’s better to give than to receive.” Give toys to children.
With these words, the toy maker returns to his rooster. When Gladys sleeps, she lets out a short "Wow!" The children won't be coming home this Christmas.
Dennis McCarthy's column appears on Sundays. He can be reached at dmccarthynews@gmail.com.
