RASCALS

When we were growing up I was the kid who brought most of the family pets home. Some were only consider  pets by me. I had turtles, chamilons, birds pet store parakeets and wild ones whose wings I fixed with popscicle sticks, a circus set up in the garage for my lady bugs, a walking stick and a few gardner snakes.

The  stray cats and dogs were a family affair. I had an albino cat a little thing  I named Spanky after the Litle Rascals charecter. I proudly entered him  in a cat show... he won for having ears that looked like a boeing 357. I saw more in him as a third grader I thought it was a mean dig by the stuffy purebred judges.

I felt a connection with my girl in my favorite books Pippi Longstockings.Of course I desired a horse and a monkey I would beg with tears to no avail.

My sisiter had a big stray orange cat who went through his nine lives. Sam was hit by a car caught a variety of illnesses and finally lost his life by poisioning from a neighbor. My mom was touring on the road when Sam died. Our dad was home in charge ,,, he made the demise of Sam as sad as it was a memorable occasion like a New Orleans buriel. Years later my sisiter and I took our first born children back to our family home to trick or treat a cat as exact as Sam followed us to the car. She went door to door noone knew the cat,,, we had situations that did not allow us to take the cat to this day she feels he had one more life in him.

A dog we named Boots- a black  beagle daushound mix  with white feet like boots and a star on his chest appeared in a blizzard when  my siblings and I were shoveling and making snow angles. He was first okayed to stay warm in the garage but made his way into our home and all of our hearts within days.
Boots was known to sneak out and wander often to our gradeschool waiting for us to be released. Often with a call to the principles office " Your dog is barking outside Mrs Wood's clasroom again, go take him home."

He was a strong as a horse my grandma and grandpa came for dinner every Sunday like clockwork when we were home. Always amazed how he carried his food bowl to the dining table requesting h e be served.

I remember all 7 of us kids dressed in our best clothes . My brother Dennis was in charge of getting us to a bus where we were to meet up with our parents. The chartered bus would drive us to MooseHeart Orpahanage . It was our annual Easter treck . My dad raised money through the year with his entertainment acts at fundraisers for the kids. An Easter Egg Hunt, pony rides, and an act this year  the Harmonica Rascals would perform, a big picnic on the grounds and my mom spending time in each room reading and playing with the kids. The children were all orpahans of Moose Club Members .

We were responsible for turning lights out , locking doors and making sure Boots was secure in the house. He was not. We all scoured the culdesac, the fields and the pit calling for him. Us  younger ones crying in tears we could not leave until he was brought home. Dennis was getting ornary knowing a bus full of Moosers were waiting on us. Our Easter dresses, suits and shined shoes were now covered in mud . He took us back home to get going and here came boots dragging a deer head with antlers multiple times his size. He  had no intention of letting his teeth off of it. Dennis let him drag it in the house , the horror on my mom's face when  we got home after our day at the orpanage was  expected.

That Boots he lived to be 18. We were told he went out and did not come back. Was that to save us from the truth or was it true. I heard him barking at stoplights, on walks and at night for years believing he was coming back.

I had no reson not to believe.  Magic and fantasy was a part of the landscape in my growing up years.