{"id":26736,"date":"2024-10-22T12:34:43","date_gmt":"2024-10-22T16:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=26736"},"modified":"2024-10-22T12:41:05","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T16:41:05","slug":"episode-1174-part-1-remembering-eric-skeoch-fondly-february-8-1940-to-august-1-2o24","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=26736","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 1,174 :PART 1: REMEMBERING ERIC SKEOCH FONDLY…FEBRUARY 8, 1940 TO AUGUST 1, 2O24"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
REMEMBERING ERIC SKEOCH FONDLY…FEBRUARY 8, 1940 TO AUGUST 1, 2O24<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
(brother)<\/div>\n
October 6. 2024<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
My brother, Eric Skeoch, died on August 1, 2024.  His death was a shock to all who new him and particularly to<\/div>\n
me as we were close enough to be twins.  The only example of sibling rivalry that comes to mine is the \u2018cake<\/div>\n
icing caper\u2019 below.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
we shared 80 years of adventures.  I miss him.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
These are my memories of Eric revealed in an imaginary conversation\u2026the kind we had often when<\/div>\n
he was alive.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THE IMAGINARY CONVERSATION<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Eric, remember The Cake Icing caper?  It comes to mind first and foremost as I begin to remember<\/div>\n
you..  The Cake Icing caper does not reflect well on me<\/div>\n
but the incident shows in a simple way Eric\u2019s planning skill.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Mom made good cakes with real cake icing liberally lathered on cake that had the bad tendency<\/div>\n
to dry out.  Eric sliced the icing off the cake and looked forward to wolfing it down after the cake was gone.   I knew that<\/div>\n
and planed to grab te slab of icing and then race down the back stairs before Eric could slide off<\/div>\n
the kitchen chair.  My moment.  I grabbed the slab and raced for the door.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
That is as far as I got.  Eric knew what was about to happen.   He had locked the door.  And he pinned me to the wall.<\/div>\n
He may have landed a punch but he was too busy laughing to do any damage.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I think mom and dad were part of Eric\u2019s scheme.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Such a trivial story.  Then again Such a meaningful story because it shows both Eric\u2019s wit and his knowledge of<\/div>\n
my frailties.   <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric, remember Dad taking us sleigh riding. Our new sleigh.  Must have been around 1944 or<\/div>\n
thereabouts.  Remember dad said \u2018you boys wait at the top of the Grenadier hill while I test the<\/div>\n
sleigh.\u201d  We waited and waited and waited but Did never returned.  Far below a crowd had gather around a tree.<\/div>\n
Eventually we slid downtime hill on our bums to find dad and our slight wrapped around a tree.  Dad<\/div>\n
broke some ribs but we were more concerned about our broken sleigh.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey, Eric, remember those wild peccaries at the High Park Zoo?  Vicious little wild kind of pig.  Dad thought we could get closer to<\/div>\n
them by climbing up behind  those pigs.  They had tusks. There must have been about 30 of them<\/div>\n
waiting to greet us.  They had tunnelled under the wire fencing<\/div>\n
and were in attack mode.   I will never forget dad carrying you Eric and trying to kick the peccaries<\/div>\n
while yelling at me to get the hell out of there.  He was surrounded but got a couple of good kicks away.  <\/div>\n
 What if he had fallen Eric? Would the pigs devour both of you and then come for me?<\/div>\n
That must have been the springtime of 1943.   You were 3 years old and I was 5.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric, remember perching on old Mr. Howard\u2019s cannon.  Dad took us there under duress.<\/div>\n
He preferred to take us to Dufferin Racetrack didn\u2019t he?  Mom must have persuaded him to keep him<\/div>\n
away from the Dufferin track. where he wasted his pay checks.  He wanted us to be little more self reliant scam artists<\/div>\n
like the Artful Dodgers in Dickens novel. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Dufferin racetrack was close to our flat at 18 Sylvan Avenue.   The racetrack was dad\u2019s real home\u2026that was where<\/div>\n
all his paychecks were spent.  Mom supported our family as a sweatshop garment maker.  How she did that remains a mystery.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Remember when we were big enough to sneak into Dufferin Racetrack.   You were 8 and I was 9.   Just the right age to scamper under the<\/div>\n
fence where gamblers gathered.  \u201cBoys your job is to Pick up all the tickets that are dropped. Always some<\/div>\n
fool drops a good one.\u201d  We got piles of them.  Dad said not to bother with tickets covered in<\/div>\n
tobacco juice.  Remember seeing dad checking them?  Occasionally he would find a good one<\/div>\n
which he could cash.     That was his scam not ours. He kept the cash while we enjoyed being part<\/div>\n
of his skulduggery.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Remember dad showing us how to run our own scam at the racetrack?  \u201cBoys, gather up<\/div>\n
some of those racing forms thrown away by people leaving the track then sell them<\/div>\n
for a quarter the next day\u201d We did that successfully a couple of times. Good money. Someone<\/div>\n
must have complained because we were chased away.  Too bad for the guys betting on<\/div>\n
yesterdays horses.  Good for us.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric,remember how dad a showed us how to get into just about any racetrack or Fair  free?  \u2026like <\/div>\n
the Royal Winter Fair. “Eric hold my hand.<\/div>\n
look straight ahead as if you own the place.\u201d    And dad would put his free hand on the rump of a <\/div>\n
Holstein cow or Shorthorn steer being led into the showroom.  That worked every<\/div>\n
time as I remember. More difficult at the racetracks but doable.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
He yEric, remember how dad used that scam wherever tickets were required.  Like sneaking into<\/div>\n
the Club House at the old Woodbine track.  \u201cLook straight ahead\u2026no expression on your faces\u2026slip by the <\/div>\n
gate, I know a man there… we don\u2019t look nervous …we will be fine.\u201d      <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
That was a lesson in life skills not taught at school.  Bit of a scam. We developed nerves of steel.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric, remember when Uncle Norman arrived at our house with half a pig.  Trail in blood from<\/div>\n
his half ton truck to our flat om Sylvan avenue.  Or was that just my imagination?  Food was short due to rationing in the war years.<\/div>\n
Remember tn\\hose pork pies mom made?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric remember when dad bought that horse in a claims race…part of a horse really.<\/div>\n
We sneaked into the track through the board fence to the stables.  We got there just in time<\/div>\n
to hear the shot.   The horse reared ump a bit then fell down dead as I remember.  We were<\/div>\n
relieved.  How was dad ever going to keep a horse in our flat? Mom would have been fit<\/div>\n
to be tied.   Not sure that dad ever told her.  If he did  mom would have said her usual<\/div>\n
criticism of him.  \u201cOh Red, you fathead.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric, remember when you knocked Barclay Cormack\u2019s front teeth out with the baseball bat?<\/div>\n
His baby teeth.  Remember all those kids we played with?\u2026Jimmy Melvin, Joan Linton, Bobby Samanas, <\/div>\n
Barclay Cormack, you and me? Barclay was the catcher\u2026played too close to thebatzer.<\/div>\n
Even professional catchers get whomped occasionally.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric,remember how Bobby Samanas\u2019s dad made us wooden Tommy Guns for our<\/div>\n
imaginary war in Dufferin Park?   Remember how we ventured up to Mount Dennis and<\/div>\n
the Mount Dennis gang smashed our wooden guns against a tree and chased us home.?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric, remember how we collected orange crates and  roller skates to make scooters.<\/div>\n
When the crates broke they were easy  to replace so we had our own little demolition derby.<\/div>\n
The skates  were the running gear\u2026half a skate on each end of a short 2 x 4.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric, remember the Robertson candy  truck heist ? We made a big mistake that day.  <\/div>\n
We watched two boys steal chocolate bars from the Robertson truck.  They ran home. Down Dufferin<\/div>\n
Street below College  Street.  We knew them.  A police car arrived and the cop asked if anyone had<\/div>\n
seen the robbery.  \u201cWe did!\u201d  The officer then put us in his cruiser and questioned us. \u201cDo you know where <\/div>\n
the thieves live?  \u201cYes sir,\u201d we answered a bit nervously. \u201cCome along.\u201d He knocked on the door<\/div>\n
\u201cHe turned to us\u2026\u201dAre these the boys?\u201d  We new then and there we were in trouble as snitches.<\/div>\n
For days we went to and from Kent Public School nervously.  Nothing happened fortunately but fingering<\/div>\n
bad guys to the police was avoided from then on.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric, remember the school dentist.  Free for kids.  He fixed lone of my teeth.  \u201cIf it bleeds hold your<\/div>\n
mouth over the curb of the sidewalk until it stops.\u201d   We were expected to be tough rather than sucks.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Hey Eric, I envied you big time. You were right handed.  I was left handed. You could do just about<\/div>\n
anything.   Like catch a baseball. I fumbled.  Baseball gloves were made for right handed people<\/div>\n
like you and 90% of kids.  I was an oddball.  Worse!  My teachers in grade 3 or 4 or both decided to<\/div>\n
\u201cbrake me\u201d.    Force me to use my right hand.  It did not work so they gave up. Result is that I cannot<\/div>\n
tell; right from left.    f someone says \u201cturn left or turn right\u201d,I have to think about it.  I am no 86 years old<\/div>\n
and still have trouble.   You became a better athlete than me.  I was OK at sports\u2026but not terrific.<\/div>\n
You were terrific. You were Chosen to attend the Ontario Athletic Leadership Camp one summer <\/div>\n
as I remember.   I envied you.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We were close friends all our lives.  Little sibling rivalry.  I miss you every time I see cake icing.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
END PART 1;  Celebration of Eric Skeoch’s life.  AN imaginary conversation.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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

REMEMBERING ERIC SKEOCH FONDLY…FEBRUARY 8, 1940 TO AUGUST 1, 2O24 alan skeoch (brother) October 6. 2024 My brother, Eric Skeoch, died on August 1, 2024.  His death was a shock to all who new him and particularly to me as we were close enough to be twins.  The only example of sibling rivalry that comes […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26736","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26736","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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26736"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26736\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26736"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26736"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26736"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}