One day my poppy smelled so plumb bad I think everyone around him just might have fainted. Poppy is my grandfather and the story happened to him, way back when, in New Castle, Pennsylvania. My poppy was 12 years old at the time.

Poppy and his best friend, Bob, wanted to make some extra money. Here's how they did it. They caught rodents with traps and sold them to the furrier for their skins. They were paid $1 for each skunk skin and 10 cents extra if they skinned the skunks themselves.

I think the whole thing is gross. I kind of like dusting and would maybe do that for my parents to earn money. I think $1 for a skunk skin would not be worth it, 'cuz I don't like seeing blood. Maybe $1,000 would be worth it, but never $1.

Now one day they went to check their traps and what did they find but two skunks. The problem was they were not dead get. So they clobbered the skunks with a stick, but got sprayed in the process. Oh, how that must have smelled bad. Have you ever smelled a skunk? I haven't smelled one but I think it might smell like vinegar, old shoes, rotten eggs, sour milk and stinky cheese all mixed up.

Well Poppy and his friend decided to earn that extra 10 cents by skinning the skunks themselves. It was pouring rain so they decided to skin them in the garage. But they skinned the skunks right next to my great-grandpa's new car. Poppy's little brother and his friend Bob's little brother sat in the new car to watch the skinning. But they decided to tattle on the big boys. They got yelled at so loud that it sounded like a storm. Great-grandpa said, "YOU CAN NOT SKIN TWO DEAD SKUNKS IN THE GARAGE BY MY NEW CAR. OUT! OUT! OUT!"

So, shaking their clenched fists at the little brothers, Poppy and his friend stomped out with scowls on their faces. They slammed the garage door behind them and tramped out into the pouring rain. They were getting soaked but slice over slit, slice over slit, they finished skinning the skunks. They plodded to the furrier and got $2 and 10 cents.

I don't think it was worth it because they got yelled at, soaking wet and sprayed. But back then they still had more than enough for four tickets to the movies. Even though the little brothers ratted on them, poppy and his friend invited them to the movies and they came along.

They walked down to the movie theater and said, "Four (tickets) to the one you're playing." They walked into the theater and Poppy and his friend sat together in the middle of the theater. The little brothers sat down in front so they could see. After they started the movie all the people around them moved away and even went out of the theater. The truth was Poppy and Bob had not changed their clothes.

Meanwhile they saw that there was a lot of room now in the front by their brothers so they moved down by them. Soon the movie agent came and said,

"YOU KIDS ARE STINKING UP THE THEATER! OUT!

So they left but they didn't give up. They went to another movie theater and hid their stinkiest stuff, hats, coats and gloves. They sat all apart in corners of the theater, so the stink would be spread out and they watched the movie. I love this story about Poppy. It's a funny story because now he is all grown up, a doctor and a pretty tidy man. It is hard to imagine him doing such a weird thing.