Snow Melt

Wildcard Monday: My Special Place was in the Doghouse

It's Wildcard Monday! The November 18, 2013 prompt for "30-Day Blogging Challenge ON HIATUS" 
Did you ever have your own 'special place' as a child? A secret hiding spot perhaps?

The only secret place I can remember having was a doghouse. My grandparents had a black pure bred cocker spaniel (I'm not sure if he was the English or American variety) when I was growing up. His doghouse was built into the garage, which made it warmer in Oklahoma winters. Skeezicks, which is what Grandpa Frank named the dog, was Patties' (she belonged to my mother) only pure bred pup.

When I went to my grandparents' house, my secret place was Skeezicks' doghouse, at least until Grandma wonder where I was getting the fleas. After a little investigation, which determined that I only got the fleas on the weekends (when I stayed overnight at my grandparents) she figured out I was hiding in Skeezicks' doghouse. Grandma and Grandpa put a stop to that, all though, from the smile I remember on Grandpa's face when he found out, I suspect he found the incident amusing if not funny. After they put a stop to me hiding in Skeezicks' doghouse I never had a flea problem again.

I always wondered where Grandpa got the name for the dog and this is what I found out:

According to the Merriam-Webster online dictionary "skeezicks" means "rascal".1
Skeezicks was a character in the Uncle Wiggily stories by Howard R. Garis.2
Skeezicks was a cartoon character in Gasoline Alley.3
Skeezix was a cat.4
Skeezix the cat had a blog.5

Thought of the Day: "If you lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas" - Proverb

Footnotes
1  http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/skeezicks
2  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Wiggily
3  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gasoline_Alley
4  http://skeezixthecat.com/
5  http://skeezixthecat.com/blog-2/