{"id":1235,"date":"2018-06-06T09:22:45","date_gmt":"2018-06-06T13:22:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=1235"},"modified":"2018-10-28T13:57:26","modified_gmt":"2018-10-28T17:57:26","slug":"fwd-screenshot-2018-06-05-at-8-57-00-pm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=1235","title":{"rendered":"Fwd: Screenshot 2018-06-05 at 8.57.00 PM"},"content":{"rendered":"

Al,<\/span><\/p>\n

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Do you remember this?<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
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 <\/p>\n

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Al,<\/div>\n
Do you remember this?

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
Thanks Nick<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
DUFFERIN RACETRACK: CRUCIBLE \u00a0OF LEARNING<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
June 2018<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Crystal clear memory\u2026terrific \u00a0photograph. \u00a0Dufferin racetrack\u2026add a couple of \u00a0hundred men in battered fedoras rushing through the gates\u00a0as if their life depended on the horses and hot walkers, now the place is Dufferin Mall. Boring.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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My brother Eric and \u00a0I were \u00a0trained by \u00a0our dad in 1948 to sell day \u00a0old \u00a0racing forms to<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

horsemen rushing to get up that slope through the gate to the track and the grandstand. \u00a0\u201cThey will be in such \u00a0a rush<\/div>\n
that they won\u2019t know the horses on \u00a0those forms ran yesterday. \u00a0A \u00a0lot of them just bet by number anyway. \u00a0Pick<\/div>\n
up today\u2019s racing \u00a0forms if the get tossed. \u00a0Also \u00a0gather \u00a0up tickets\u2026some \u00a0assholes throw away good \u00a0tickets<\/div>\n
because they are drunk\u201d \u00a0We did this trick a \u00a0few times\u2026not a permanent job but a good scam.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
See \u00a0the guy leaning against the brick wall on the left. \u00a0He was some kind \u00a0of guard to keep us out of the track.<\/div>\n
Easy when the paved slope was empty but when there were a \u00a0hundred or more people rushing up that slope<\/div>\n
he \u00a0could not catch \u00a0us.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The building he is leaning against was \u00a0the Robertson Candy Company building. \u00a0Eric \u00a0and \u00a0I \u00a0got a \u00a0good<\/div>\n
drubbing \u00a0when \u00a0we fingered a \u00a0couple of \u00a0guys \u00a0who robbed \u00a0the candy \u00a0truck\u2026stole \u00a0boxes \u00a0of \u00a0chocolate \u00a0bars.<\/div>\n
when the cop arrived he asked \u00a0\u201cAnybody \u00a0see the thieves?\u201d \u00a0Like fools we put our hands \u00a0up. \u00a0\u201cWhere do<\/div>\n
the thieves live?\u201d \u00a0And \u00a0then he took us with him to their house south on \u00a0Dufferin. \u00a0 A \u00a0woman came to the door and then her \u00a0boys<\/div>\n
behind her. \u00a0Got the distinct feeling these people were poor like us. \u00a0Also \u00a0began to feel we were stepping \u00a0into trouble.<\/div>\n
\u00a0\u00a0I don\u2019t know what happened to them. \u00a0I \u00a0do \u00a0know that was the last time we snitched. \u00a0Got the<\/div>\n
shit knocked out of \u00a0us\u2026nah! \u00a0that\u2019s \u00a0an \u00a0overstatement but we did \u00a0get knocked \u00a0around a bit. \u00a0Why in \u00a0God\u2019s name<\/div>\n
would a cop \u00a0put us \u00a0in such danger?<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
See those leaves on the grass where \u00a0the cameraperson stood? \u00a0It was \u00a0about that spot where I saw one<\/div>\n
of the Beanery \u00a0Gang get his head \u00a0hit with a lead \u00a0pipe or wooden bat as he tried \u00a0to protect one of \u00a0the<\/div>\n
Beanery girls \u00a0from an \u00a0attack by the Junction Gang. \u00a0 We lived \u00a0in an old tenement in the centre of the park\u202618 Syvan Avenue<\/div>\n
and \u00a0were able to watch those gang wars \u00a0from our second floor flat. \u00a0Saw a \u00a0cop flatten some poor kid \u00a0on the<\/div>\n
hood of the squad car. \u00a0Lots of action. \u00a0Afterwards Eric and \u00a0I would try to gather up the weapons\u2026pipes, \u00a0bats,<\/div>\n
never any guns. \u00a0 We \u00a0did find \u00a0a \u00a0lot of good safes. \u00a0Safes? Know what I mean\u2026they made \u00a0great balloons although \u00a0Mom told us., \u201cDo not pick<\/div>\n
up those \u00a0dirty old things.\u201d \u00a0 We learned \u00a0the facts \u00a0of life from observations as we hid beneath forsythia bush<\/div>\n
in the days when \u00a0Dufferin Park was \u00a0densely forested and had \u00a0a little valley flanked by \u00a0bushes. \u00a0No, \u00a0that\u2019s<\/div>\n
not quite true. \u00a0We learned the facts of life from our cat Tinker who was quite promiscuous. \u00a0 And dad\u2019s<\/div>\n
earthy language helped quite a bit\u2026thought, oddly, \u00a0he never used the F word. \u00a0 He \u00a0used every other<\/div>\n
word though. \u00a0Calling \u00a0someone a \u00a0\u201cmealy \u00a0mouthed son of a bitch\u201d was one \u00a0of \u00a0his best\u2026usually applied<\/div>\n
to Finance company agents trying to collect debts from him.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Mom began to worry that we wold \u00a0end \u00a0up in the gang lifestyle. \u00a0Not so. \u00a0 We were not that kind\u2026too \u00a0soft.<\/div>\n
But she \u00a0worried and put aside as \u00a0much \u00a0as she could from her seamstress \u00a0work\u2026sweatshop work\u2026to put a \u00a0donwpaymen on<\/div>\n
a rather rundown house at 455 Annette Street. \u00a0A fancier neighbourhood. \u00a0We rented the bottom floor and all \u00a0lived \u00a0in the<\/div>\n
three rooms \u00a0on the upper floor. \u00a0Shared the bed with Dad \u00a0who worked \u00a0night shifts at Dunlop Tire\u2026he like nights \u00a0because he<\/div>\n
spent days \u00a0at racetracks \u00a0when the horses were running. \u00a0Mom slept on the couch in the middle room and, \u00a0as Eric<\/div>\n
is \u00a0fond \u00a0of \u00a0Saying, \u201cMom was the only person he ever knew who \u00a0used \u00a0her purse as a pillow.\u201d \u00a0She had to do \u00a0this to<\/div>\n
keep Dad from \u201cborrowing\u201d a few bucks. \u00a0 Dad \u00a0was a charmer\u2026wonderful guy to us\u2026but others thought he was<\/div>\n
totally \u00a0irresponsible. \u00a0True! \u00a0But, Jesus, he was fun. \u00a0And \u00a0he taught us \u00a0a lot of lessons \u00a0about life.And, oh yes, if \u00a0any<\/div>\n
son of a bitch every touched us, that bastard would \u00a0meet dad\u2019s \u00a0fist \u2026 and \u00a0fast. \u00a0 It was a strange marriage\u2026mom and dad\u2026<\/div>\n
but they loved each other. \u00a0 They made our lives \u00a0wonderful. \u00a0Lots \u00a0of variation.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
So there Nick\u2026yes, \u00a0I do \u00a0remember the picture.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
alan<\/div>\n
June 5, 2018<\/div>\n
(Memories \u00a0from late 1940\u2019s)<\/div>\n
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\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Please forgive any typos.<\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Al, Do you remember this?   Al, Do you remember this? Thanks Nick DUFFERIN RACETRACK: CRUCIBLE \u00a0OF LEARNING alan skeoch June 2018 Crystal clear memory\u2026terrific \u00a0photograph. \u00a0Dufferin racetrack\u2026add a couple of \u00a0hundred men in battered fedoras rushing through the gates\u00a0as if their life depended on the horses and hot walkers, now the place is Dufferin […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1235","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1235"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1644,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1235\/revisions\/1644"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}