The Black Hills union and western stock review. [volume] (Rapid City, S.D.) 1904-19??, 1905-04-07
THE SKIDDO0 HABIT.


form of an up bound Fourteenth street
car munching on a pulpy, sone-out
cigar The fore rim of his soft hat
was pulled over his eyes, which were
slightly bloodshot
He looked like one who had nervcd
himself against some sort of a wallop
about to be handed him by the mailed
fist of fate.
A CHEEKY friend of the gloomy look
ing mans swung aboard the rear plat
form. The two exchanged greetings.
and then he of the slightly bloodshot
eyes nquired
Die ever stack up against one of
these women with the skddo habit,
pal?"
I've seen Eliza doing the icy getaway
mean" said the other lightly.
Nope, that isn't the answer said
the man with the PUPPY, gone out
smoke. Kind l mean is the married
woman with the hike habit. Kind that's
got the packingup and skinning out
| bug. Isn't such common or garden
variety, at that, but it exists, buddy,
and you don't want to think that don't
| know it.
Sure thing l know it. Every time
the husband and provider of a woman
with the skiddoo habit nudges home
| with his hat on a little crooked she
begins to wrap up the 9Scent mission
clock in a tidy and then she swipes
/ the knicllknacks off the mantel-piece
and losses them into her trunk.
She no sooner gets one of these
| ght-feet-away old seuth smells at
| his breath than she begins to assemble
| her old slippers and rubbers out of the
| corner of the closet and starts to dump
| them into her trunk trays.
Yep, she tells the fiend in human
| form who comes home with his bat
on slightly crooked that she's going
| to pull right out and leave him to the
misery he so richly deserves; and that's
all there is about it; no use talking,
he could talk until doosmday and 1t nd
! do no good; and then she begins to
grab the manicure things off the chif-
fonier and to fold 'em up in a bureau
| scarf, preparatory to dumping the gear
into that trunk that she has yanSed
out into the middle of the bed room
floor.
IF her husbands In the habit of sit
ting around the house twenty-nine
nights in month, smoking a bum pipe
| TIL he's black under the eyes, and go
ing to bed at 8 o'clock-if on the
thil'tieth night, he slips down to take
in II variety show, and stops after the
show to play a game of billiards and
hurl in a ball or two, just to put a large
tang to the dreariness of living and to
| knock some of the mOnotOny out of eX-
Istence-why, when he gets home a few
minutes after l. there she is, sailing
around the room like tigress, sep
arating her junk from his, and stow
ing her fancy waists in a protected
out-of- the-way corner Of her trunk
where's she going?
That's none of your business, she
tells you. But she's going the very first
thing in the morning.
She's going to give your happy home
n FiS.f hot nlyn CIT al
your eyes.
why?
because you smashed the routine
and failed to connect with the front
door on schedule time
IF you go off on a little business trip.
and, on the way back in the smoking
compartment, sample few of the
amphora passed your way, SO that when
you get nome in the cab you are just
Il teenchy bit conversational and en-
thusiastic, why, what comes off?
We'll. she makes two strides OF ii
for her hat boxes and starts i'll to
pack.
What for?
Because you're a hopeless Irish loaf
er and Il tank, and you're never going
to be any different, and SO, what's the
use-and then she slams everything out
of her small steamer trunk SOS to be
able to repack all of that dunnage in
her bic trunk
she just nachuly loves to pack, the
! married woman with the skiddoo habit
| "Often, on rainy afternoons. when
| everything's going smooth and all right
she's got the packing bug SO bad that
t she'll drag everything out of her trunk
and put it back again, heaving deep
| signs all the time because her man
: hasn't done something or won't do any
thing thatll offer her a tolerable ex-
cuse to make quick hike of it.
But when you've really done some
} thing-busted the schedule by a few
minutes, that is, and come home with
the slight nagon aroma on your breath
she goes about the packing like an
: upholsterer finishing up an overdue jot
OF a Saturday night.
"And while your sitting there and
: twiddling your thumbs and wondering
what it's all about. one of her sisters
who has heard all about 1t in some
5 mysterious way, several hours before
l drops in and glares at you, and re
Z marks that it serves some common, no
: count brutes good and right to have
some things done TO 'em-and then she
begins to help in the packing.
"Oh, it's a swell game, and don't yol
think l don't know it!
Yep, and the married woman Will
the skiddoo habit goes as she says sht
Will, just as often as not.
"She likes to ride on the steam car.
eNely lllle lllle 9ce, Juol SIle lIhe
j.. to pack. She likes to grab up the nut
F.. that you've raised by hand and tie
: rope to his collar and toss him into thu
baggage car, SOS she can go into tn
. baggage car every little while and pc
1 the mutt.
t She's not thinking as much abou
I you, sitting back there in the old room
: that somehow seems so lonesome ant
: bare and blue-that somehow has los
= it's fragrance and It's light and it's at
| tractiveness-she's not bothered 81
I much about you as she is about tn
/ Dog And then she likes to go into tn
i luxurious dining car. and eat, and lool
v out of the car window, and reflect upol
y how much she's been abused and NAL
;. treated all these long years.
: The man with the PUPPY gone-ou
8 smoke buttoned his overcoat up aroun
l his ears and signaled to the conducto
that he wanted to get off.
t I'm about four hours behind my reg
ular schedule now" he concluded as tn
n car slowed up, and I've applied tw
cream ales and a Scotch highball to m
. system, and I'd be willing to bet tw
nd fnrt1, -f1rn ,fc tho{ l,c