Note: Such a trivial event…a broken baby finger. But it Changed my life. Embarrassing and personal… maybe the story is too
boring for readers. Skip it then. That baby finger, however, is a big parr of my life. I feel driven to tell the story even though most
readers might feel I have wasted their time.
Take a look at my baby left finger. See the bump on it. Now to tell the story.
EPISODE 917 FOOTBALL ACCIDENTS CAN HAVE BIG CONSEQUENCES…MY BABY FINGER for instane
alan skeoch
Nov. 20, 2-23
The accident seemed so trivial at first. But the consequences on my life Big time and bad….in the short run.
And surprisingly positive in the long run.
I threw a good Cross Body block. Was it in a game or just in a practice scrimmage ? I do not remember.
I do remember the block. My left hand touched the ground as the block finished. Then our halfback ran by.
And he stepped on my left hand. Let’s say that was 180 to 200 pounds of crested foot were landed on my baby finger.
It hurt a bit. Later I had trouble writing. My left hand scrawl was bad enough butDoing so with a broken baby finger
was worse.
“Your finger is broken, Alan.”
“I know that but it does not hurt much.”
“You should get it fixed.””
“How?”
“See Dr Pennal, at St. Joseph’s Hospital.” I think that was the surgeon’s name. Not sure. And I think Dr. Greensway
suggested getting a surgical opinion.
(seventy two years ago)
“Yes , it is broken.”
“Does it need to be fixed?”
“Yes. Fragment floating around that little finger need to be stabilized. Minor operation,”
And that’s how this major event in my life began. Noting major. Minor surgery The year was 1958. My Grade 13 year
of high school at Humberside. Big plans? I had none. Had no idea what to do with my life. The smashed baby
finger changed everything.
THE OPERATION — FINGER SURGERY
I went to the hospital alone. Not because my parents didn’t care. But they were working
Mom was a sewing machine operator in a needle trade sweatshop hidden workshop on Annette Street near Keele St.
If she did not work, she did not get paid. Dad made good money a long way from home. He was a truck tire buider and had to catch a series of busses and street cars from
West Toronto to the small tow of Whitby, east of Toronto. Probably 3 to 4 hours there and back home. He was a gambler….horse races too all his free time.
So I went alone. Never a good idea going to a hospital alone. I read that somewhere. True.
First i was asked to lie down on a gurney while a nurse shaved my right arm. Now That seemed
odd to me.
“Why are you shaving my right arm?”
“To get you ready for the surgeon.”
“But it is my left hand with the broken finger.”
(She checked my chart)
“Sorry…you are correct.
(Then she shaved my left arm)
What would happen if they opened up the wrong finger?”
“This local will numb your hand…no pain. You wil be awake.”
(And a nurse gave me a needle. Then the gurney was wheeled
into the hallway and left there for some time. I waited on the gurney for a long time it seemed.
Then was wheeled in to the operating theatre. Yes, theatre. There ws a huge round gallery
above me with half a dozen people gazing down. Such a small operation for interns and
nurses to watch. I never did know exactly how damaged my finger seemed. No time for
thinking.
“YOWEEE! That hurts, “ as the surgeon began to open up the finger.
“When did this boy get the local?”
“Some time ago, perhaps an hour or more>=”
“Give him another shot right now.”
No pain after that. I took my mind off the surgery by watching the people who were in turn
watching the surgery. Tried to put my mind elsewhere. Ten it was over.
“Son, you will have a cast on your left hand for some time. The bones on
your little finger have been put in place… a long wire pin goes down the centre of your finger.
When all seems fine the pin will be removed. See the tip of it there. Be careful.”
(Instructions were something like that. The pin was there but not visible due to the cast.)
Day surgery. “You can go home now.” I boarded the Roncesvales street car heading for
the Annete Strreet bus and home. I felt a little faint as blood oozed into the cast but
soon I began total the immobility of my left hand for granted.
Should I play football? Why not? We had a game against Oakwood where I made a
textbook shoestring tackle. Burf said so He may have also noticed my white cast. Never told him about it.
And in that game I nearly intercepted a pass but knocked the ball to the ground instead.
“Why did you not catch the ball and run with it?”
“Never occurred to me.” (Left Guards andi inside linebackers are not ball carriers)
I was back in the game…playing my role with the team. It felt good.
OMINOUS CLOUD
The consequences of that damaged little finger changed my life.
Grade 13 was a tough year for students across Ontario in 1958. Grade 13
exam papers were marked by special markers in June and July. Markers that
did know or care that I could barely scribble my name even after the cast was removed.
CONSEQUENCES OF MY LITTLE BROKEN FINGER … WERE BIG TIME
Next Episode BIG CONSEQUENCES OF A FINGER WIRED TOGETHER
postscript: The Grade 13 exams were very serious…expected much of students.
Circular S. 4C 1959-3113
ivjinisiry 0 i E
r r
33 3 • I9i G
o 6T>>e {H –
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
MEMORANDUM
To Principals of Secondary Schools
Re Grade 13 Departmental Examinations in English
1959
ENGLISH LITERATURE I. GENERAL COMMENTS
Markers of the English Literature papers in 1959 observed a gratifying improvement in handwriting and spelling, as well as in sentence structure and coherence. It was still evident, however, that a great many candidates lacked training in organizing their material. The habitual use of clear, precise, and idiomatic English remains the exception rather than the rule, and startling deficiencies in vocabulary were revealed. For instance, many candidates lost marks because they did not know the meaning of “thwart” and “subsequent”. Those who neglected to read the questions carefully penalized themselves by failing to perceive the main requirement of the question and by wasting time in writing irrelevant material.
The defect most frequently found was that, though most candidates revealed an adequate command of the content of the course, few were able to discuss critically and appreciatively the means which an author uses to produce his effects. Key words in the questions, directing the candidates to attempt a critical approach, were largely ignored. Thus, though candi¬ dates were asked ‘how a statement contributes to the achievement of a purpose’ and ‘how a character is revealed’, and were directed to state or describe ‘the means by which suspense is created’, ‘the uses of metaphor or simile’, ‘the methods of inducing the reader. . . ’, and ‘the sources of comic
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