Ah... PRECIOUS MEMORIES! Like this one, taken in January of 1992, when my Josh was 6 1/2 years old, during a goose hunting trip in Katy with his dad and some good friends. This picture came to my mind... because of this recent skunk photo. What does a skunk have to do with a goose hunt? Well hold on friend, I'm coming to that!
My daughter sent this to us, after sharing all the excitement over the phone of discovering a skunk hiding in a back corner of their yard. Her husband was very creative in chasing the little fellow away. He used his pressure washer to SPRAY the skunk... before the skunk SPRAYED him! Every time the tail began to to rise, Nick sprayed him a good one... and he skedaddled out of there... perhaps to an unsuspecting neighbor's yard, I'm thinking.
That is one more story to add to our...
"Messick Family Skunk Memories"
Memories such as:
- Dave and I having to abandon our picnic table and Scrabble board at Garner State Park... because of a TROOP of skunks coming out of the hills. We had to dive into our tent. "Stop throwing rocks at them Dave!" AND THEN... waking during the night to little paws "making biscuits" on the netting of our tent.
- Another trip to Garner State Park (the skunk capital of Texas, I think), this time in cabins, with a lot of friends. I went running back to a friend's cabin for a flashlight, bent down on their porch to pet their black-and-white Lhasa Apso, only to realize I actually had petted a SKUNK!!!
- Now... this is our our "Granddaddy of Them All" skunk memory. DRUM ROLL, PLEASE! It took place in 1992, moments after the "Look Daddy, the gooses are kissing!" picture was taken. The guys were headed back to the truck, with the golden retriever in the lead. The dog spotted something ... not a goose, but... you guessed it. And that skunk hit poor Tonto directly in the eyes, with the huge over-spray covering Dave and poor little Josh. ***The dog yelped, painfully... and stunk for days. ***The truck was never quite the same. ***When my guys opened our back door, the stench took my breath away. I made them strip down on the patio. Their clothes were burned... and they carried the aroma for days. ***By the way...tomato juice DID NOT HELP!
I thought about saying something corny, like "such sweet memories." But I decided to spare you. One thing I will say. Having "skunked" memories has sure been helpful to embellish nature lessons involving those little critters!
