{"id":26764,"date":"2024-11-07T11:00:32","date_gmt":"2024-11-07T16:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=26764"},"modified":"2024-11-07T11:02:45","modified_gmt":"2024-11-07T16:02:45","slug":"episode-1175-imaginary-conversation-with-eric-skeoch-beer-bottle-weapons-and-mud-spikes-1940s-and-1960s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=26764","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 1,175; IMAGINARY CONVERSATION WITH ERIC SKEOCH, (beer bottle weapons and mud spikes, 1940;s and 1960’s)"},"content":{"rendered":"
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EPISODE  1,175;   IMAGINARY CONVERSATION WITH ERIC SKEOCH (beer bottle weapons and mud spikes\u2026and 1944 snowstorm)<\/p>\n

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alan skeoch<\/div>\n
oct. 22, 2024<\/div>\n

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Picture of Eric and me in front of one of our snow forts 1946 or around that time. In the1944 great December<\/div>\n
storm Eric was only 4 years old while I was six years old\u2026obviously we were younger than we appear<\/div>\n
in the picture above.<\/div>\n

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The snowstorm of 1944 brought life to a standstill in Toronto.<\/div>\n

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Hey \u0010\u0010Eric. remember the snowstorm of December 1944.   Almost two feet of snow came down<\/div>\n
and paralyzed the city.  More than 20 people died trying to shovel their way to the coal chutes outside each house..<\/div>\n
No chute – no coal – no heat. The city was stopped dead. I think you, mom and I slept in the<\/div>\n
same bed on cold nights while dad was on the couch.  <\/div>\n

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Remember what we did in those ww2 war years, Eric? We built the best damn forts made of snow where we could fight<\/div>\n
against  make believe enemies.   We were largely unaware that World War Two was raging.  Hubert Skeoch<\/div>\n
and Harvey Metcalfe arrived when the war ended.  Hubert had a plate of false teeth he removed<\/div>\n
for our enjoyment and you found a \u2018safe’ in Harvey’s back pocket.  <\/div>\n

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Hey Eric, remember when this picture was taken?  We inherited the Freeman Farm around 1960 after grandma and grandpa Freeman died.  Mom inherited <\/div>\n
the place\u202625 acres of stony soil with 5 swamps.  Hardly a farm was it?  The farm house was solid.  This is my favourite picture of the four of us.  Laughing.<\/div>\n
We laughed a lot didn\u2019t we?   In spite of dad\u2019s gambling addiction.  It is possible to love people despite their weaknesses and eccentricities.  Mom kept us<\/div>\n
together.  She got no credit.   She did not expect it.  We were not huggers and kissers,  We took each other for granted.  We loved each other.  <\/div>\n

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NOTE:  DUFFERIN PARK is mentioned several times in these memories\u2026 real or imagined?  Hard to say. The historical<\/div>\n
records say almost nothing about the park.  Is my memory of one big gang fight false?  Why have I so much<\/div>\n
detail in my mind?  Your thoughts!! Broken beer bottles were excellent weapons.<\/div>\n

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\"Bar<\/div>\n

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Broken beer bottle weapon<\/div>\n

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Hey Eric, remember when I fell on that broken beer bottle in Dufferin Park?  We were playing Blind Man\u2019s Bluff with mom. perhaps 5 or 6 years old. <\/div>\n
Big slash.  Some blood.  The park was<\/div>\n
a dangerous place in the war and post war years.  Gangs\u2026The Junction Gang and the Beanery Gang.I think the<\/div>\n
beer bottle had been a weapon.  Easy to make.  Grab the bottle by the neck and smash it against rock.  In most cases <\/div>\n
shards of lethal looking protruded.  Perhaps the bottle was just cast aside by a beer drinker.  No matter its origin<\/div>\n
the bottle cut me badly.  I still have the scar 80 years later.  The cut was bad enough but made worse by<\/div>\n
mom saying \u201cAlan, we must get the cut stitched up at the hospital.\u201d  Now that terrified me.  Hospitals were places <\/div>\n
where people go to die.  What did I do?  Remember?  I ran home as fast as I could.  Upstairs and under the<\/div>\n
big bed.  Grasped the bed springs.  Mom could not pull me out.  I screamed.   Dad came home a little later.  He fished me<\/div>\n
out fast.  He lifted the whole bed, turned it over and hauled me erect.  Strange that I do not remember getting the<\/div>\n
stitches nor the hospital.  The whole incident showed me that the game of Blind Man\u2019s Bluff could have bad<\/div>\n
consequences and that dad was as strong as an ape.   He could lift a double bed and turn it over. <\/div>\n

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Muddy football fields were to be expected.   This was our 1962 team at Victoria College, U. of T.,  Russ Vanstone and I have<\/div>\n
mud faces on their right.  <\/div>\n
Eric is in back row.<\/div>\n

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You are probably thinking \u201cWhat this story  got to do with me\u2026Eric.\u201d  And there is a reason.  Years later you<\/div>\n
were sliced far worse than me.  I remember the moment.   We were playing football against Riverdale whose<\/div>\n
quarter back was nick-named Banana Nose.  The field was a quagmire of mud but our game was scheduled<\/div>\n
regardless.  The change house  had  been bashed up and one Riverdale guy poked his head through a<\/div>\n
missing divider yelling \u201cWe\u2019re going to cream you pricks,\u201d Or some such expression.  Football was serious<\/div>\n
business in High school  We won.   But there were casualties.  You limped off the field at one point.  \u201cLittle cut in my leg<\/div>\n
you said to coach Fred Burfprd.  It turned out to be a very nasty hole in your leg\u2026more than an inch deep.<\/div>\n
No-one knew that until later.  The hole had been filled with mud and white chalk field marker.  You played the<\/div>\n
rest of the game.  No one knew how serious the slash was.  It was not a scratch.  It was big mud filled hole.<\/div>\n
Just looking it made me feel weak in the knees. <\/div>\n

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How did it happen?  Both teams, Humberside and Riverdale, prepared for the game by unscrewing the<\/div>\n
cleats in our boots with \u2018mud cleats\u2019 to get a better a better purchase in the muddy field.  Mud cleats were about inch long.  They were weapons and you, Eric, were the reason mud cleats were never <\/div>\n
used again.  Or so I believe.<\/div>\n

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Was it mom who washed the mud out of your leg?  I think so.  No one really knew how badly you were hurt. Mom did.<\/div>\n
Mom took you to Dr.Greenaway  that evening.  He got very serious.  <\/div>\n

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\u201cThis could be badly infected.We won\u2019t know until; morning.<\/div>\n
So take this syringe home with you.  Alan, your mother says both sleep in the same bed, so you will be the<\/div>\n
first to notice trouble.  If Eric says something  or if the leg gets puffy and red then you give him this needle<\/div>\n
right away. Understand\/\u2018\u201c<\/div>\n

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I feared needles.  I was already weak in the knees due to your injury.  Dr. Greenaway put me in a<\/div>\n
life or death situation.  I believe I stayed awake all night.  I stared at the grotesque syringe.  I was scared.<\/div>\n
You were calm.   Asleep.<\/div>\n
Nothing happened.  We saw Dr. Greenaway the next morning.  He took the needle away.  Told you not to<\/div>\n
play any more football for a time.   Coach Burford got upset.   The mud cleats were unscrewed and<\/div>\n
dumped in the garbage.<\/div>\n

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The Humbersiders, namely us, won the game from Banana Nose and the Riverdale tough guys<\/div>\n

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Life continued.   Both you and I have scars to remind us of our youth. YOURS WORSE THAN MINE. I have no idea what was in that syringe.<\/div>\n
Do you remember?<\/div>\n

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ALAN<\/div>\n
Oct. 26, 2024 <\/div>\n

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ON November 4, 2024, a few of the survivors of that game in 1956 will meet for lunch at the Burlington Golf<\/div>\n
and Country Cub for lunch.  we have done this for years.  I wonder if Zig, Gary, Gord, Marino or the Rodin boys will remember?<\/div>\n

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EPISODE  1,175;   IMAGINARY CONVERSATION WITH ERIC SKEOCH (beer bottle weapons and mud spikes\u2026and 1944 snowstorm) alan skeoch oct. 22, 2024 Picture of Eric and me in front of one of our snow forts 1946 or around that time. In the1944 great December storm Eric was only 4 years old while I was six years […]<\/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-26764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26764","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=26764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26764\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}