{"id":5779,"date":"2020-09-21T15:05:14","date_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=5779"},"modified":"2020-09-21T15:09:53","modified_gmt":"2020-09-21T19:09:53","slug":"episode-123-violence-football-a-broken-little-finger-changed-my-life-part-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=5779","title":{"rendered":"EPISODE 123 VIOLENCE FOOTBALL…A BROKEN LITTLE FINGER CHANGED MY LIFE (part one)"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
A  NOTE:  IF you did not receive Episode 122 there is a reason.  I felt it was just too brutal for your tender ears.<\/div>\n
A subjective decision.  The topic includes  a letter from my good friend Robert Root who was forced to visit<\/div>\n
the hog killing floor at the St. Clair slaughter house when he was about my age.  It is awful reading.  So I applied<\/div>\n
censorship.  If you want the story, let me know.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
This Episode (#123) continues the violent theme but is terribly self centred for which I apologize.  Hope a few of<\/div>\n
you are left handed and therefore more understanding.<\/div>\n

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

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

EPISODE 123   VIOLENCE   A BROKEN LITTLE FINGER CHANGED MY LIFE\u2026FOOTBALL IS VIOLENT (part one)<\/p>\n


<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Sept. 2020<\/div>\n

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

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Take a close look at this LEFT HAND.  See the little finger.  Look closely and you will see it is  crooked.  When that finger was wired<\/div>\n
back together my whole life changed.   Big changes happen often from small events.  Keep that finger in mind.<\/div>\n
(Now I know you will not believe this.  I asked Marjorie to proof read the story and she broke out laughing reading the first<\/div>\n
sentence.  I had photographed my right hand\u2026not my left.  I still do not know the difference.)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cDid Someone say turn left?\u201d  Take a look at my hands\u2026I am touching my left little finger\u2026and that<\/div>\n
is what this story is all about.   You may not realize that until the very end of Part One.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
There, among the miscellany of our children\u2019s old room,\u2026there rests the team picture from 1954.  I checked today and notice<\/div>\n
it is gone.  (Sept. 20, 2020)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Hidden away in our cellar are the trophies that were once so important in my life but are now forgotten.  Take the Wildman Trophy<\/div>\n
for instance.  I was very proud of this award. That was once a huge trophy in Humberside C.I., sat in the front hall all on its own.  <\/div>\n
Now gone somewhere.  Chuck Wildman was killed at Queen\u2019s University in his first year when doing a prank climbing an electric <\/div>\n
pole to the transformer.  His father was an organizer of our annual football dinner\u2026father and sons.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201cOH, ALAN, I know these boys from Lawrence Park Collegiate,\u201d  I asked Marjorie to proof read this story and it turns out she knows the enemies<\/div>\n
very well.  She had a bad crush on one of them.   I think she could have done better looking over our guys at Humberside.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\\<\/div>\n
Take a close look.  Look at faded #7, Roger Pugh, the boy who took a kick in the face to prevent a kicker from booting the ball downfield.<\/div>\n
That\u2019s coach Burford on the left\u2026beside him in plain clothes is Jim Romaniuk, my friend, and beside Jim I am crouched.   See # 13  That<\/div>\n
is Rich Mermer the best Athlete i have ever seen.  And a nice guy as  well. On his right is co captain,  Gord Nicholls #12, who along with Gary Logan (left of <\/div>\n
#13) organizes our annual luncheons \u2026 yes, some of us still meet even though now in our 80\u2019s.  Like Garth Spencer in front of Jim Romaniuk. That\u2019s<\/div>\n
Ken Takasaki behind Rich Mermer who I suspect was the son of a Canadian Japanese family pushed out of British Columbia in World<\/div>\n
War II\u2026their fishing boats confiscated.  Maybe so.  And look at #54 on the right, that\u2019s \u201cJarring Jack Osmond\u201d, suspended from school<\/div>\n
a year later for bringing beer in s violin cast to a night football game.  Rob Wildman, top row #25, whose brother was electrocuted by accident and<\/div>\n
whose family donated the Wildman trophy in Chuck\u2019s honour.  And Jeff Scott with whom I share emails each week.  So many freinds.<\/div>\n
On the far right is our principal, W. E. Taylor who had to contend with<\/div>\n
the anti-football lobby of teachers at Humberside.  Not everyone loved the game..<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Here is a document from the 1956 season with all the boys names.  Why would you be interested?  1) Because your name might be there  2) Because the lists reveal just how deep the football culture<\/div>\n
of the 1950\u2019s had penetrated the high school culture.  Today only a fragment of that culture remains. Most schools do not play football any more.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Football may seem to have little to do with violence \u2026 I mean nasty violence.  <\/div>\n
I feel, however, that this short football story might find a few interested readers.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Football scared me at first.  Not the violence although that was a little frightening.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
LEFT HANDED HANDICAP\u2026BIG TIME <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
In Grade 9 I nearly joined the Bantam football team at Humberside Collegiate but was rather<\/div>\n
startled by the knowledge base required.  And also by the fact that football used <\/div>\n
words like \u2019left\u2019 and \u2019right\u2019 a lot more than I  could handle.  I am left handed.  No big<\/div>\n
deal to most of you and even to most left handers.  My problem is that I do not know<\/div>\n
the difference between left and right.  Really.   If someone asks  me to turn left I<\/div>\n
immediately move my fingers to touch my broken baby finger on my left hand. I know<\/div>\n
that is left.  The finger was broken and operated on when I was a senior student<\/div>\n
at Humberside.   That BABY FINGER CHANGED MY LIFE.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Why do I have this trouble?   Back in elementary school at Kent Public School there<\/div>\n
was a concerted effort to \u2018break\u2019 left handed kids.  To make them right handed.<\/div>\n
For their own good because they must live in s world where 90% are right handed.<\/div>\n
Tools, for instance, are made for right handed people.  Scissors, stoves, washing machines,<\/div>\n
watches, car controls (i.e. signals, headlights) are made for right handed people.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
So it was a noble plan to make left handers in right handers.  Maybe it was Grade 4<\/div>\n
where the attempt was made at first.  That made me feel like I was some kind of <\/div>\n
freak.  Then the policy was changed.  It suddenly all right to be left handed if I might<\/div>\n
say it this way.  (i.e. the right means correct\u2026if that is so then what does  the word<\/div>\n
left mean?  Left is sinister\u2026wrong, dangerous, threatening, odd, etc.)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Sports were for right handed people I came to believe.  In baseball I was usually<\/div>\n
assigned to centre field and feared when the ball was hit my way.  \u201cPlease do<\/div>\n
not hit a high fly to me,\u201d I prayed.   When that happened I had to try and<\/div>\n
catch the ball with my left handed mitt\u2026then transfer the ball to my right hand\u2026<\/div>\n
then throw off the right handed mitt\u2026then transfer the ball to my left hand\u2026then<\/div>\n
throw the ball .  By that time the runner was heading for third base and even<\/div>\n
home plate.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
If choosing players for a team, I would  not be chosen\u2026at least not  chosen<\/div>\n
first.   Maybe alone at the last.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
In Grade Ten, things changed.   I did join the junior football team at high school.<\/div>\n
Why?  My brother, right handed, had joined the Bantams was one reason.  The<\/div>\n
other reason was that I came to believe that girls like football.  And I liked girls a lot.<\/div>\n
I know now that<\/div>\n
this chauvinistic  belief was false.  Girls do not give a sweet goddamn about football.<\/div>\n
They do however like boys, especially when boys reach Grade Ten and are not longer<\/div>\n
considered fools.  The best way to see and  meet boys was to cheer the football team.<\/div>\n
Well that is an overstatement but is something i came to believe.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Our coach, Fred Burford, was a born leader of men.  He was tough and knew where <\/div>\n
each  man (boy) could serve the team best.  What would he do with me?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cSkeoch, you will be a left guard.\u201d<\/div>\n
(Perfect, he knows my handicap).<\/div>\n
\u201cSecond String left guard.:<\/div>\n
(Perfect, I will sit on the bench sidelines for the game but still be on the team.)<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Every game we played that year I was nervous.  Afraid that coach Burford would<\/div>\n
send me forward into the offensive huddle.   Afraid i would fail him in some way<\/div>\n
or other.   I was not alone on the second string bench.  Jim Romaniuk, my good<\/div>\n
friend, set beside me.  He was the second or third string quartrerback and also<\/div>\n
fine on the bench.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then one game…A real game against another high school\u2026there was a need<\/div>\n
for a second string left guard.  The coach turned around.  Jim Romaiuk pointed at me\u2026<\/div>\n
Coach Burford said, \u201cYou Skeoch, get on the field\u201d   God, I wished  I had not<\/div>\n
been chosen as I flip flopped my way to the huddle.  Flip flopped because my<\/div>\n
football shoes (called Spikes, because they had aluminum stubs on the soles\u2026spikes)<\/div>\n
..my football shoes were the last handed out.  The worst in other words.  Split in<\/div>\n
half between heel and sole.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Once in the huddle I hope and prayed the fullback would dive into the right side<\/div>\n
of the line.  And most often he did.  Right wins more than left.  Thankfully.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I know this is all Greek to those of you who have never played football. Let me<\/div>\n
just point out that the boys (men) on the line have a job to do.  They must<\/div>\n
use their strength  to punch a hole in the line that the ball carrier can run<\/div>\n
through\u2026usually squeeze through\u2026before the defensive players can bring him<\/div>\n
down to ground like a wild steer at a rodeo.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Yes, football is a violent game.  Boys and men flinging themselves at each other.<\/div>\n
Force against force.  A victor and a loser.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cYour job is to delay the attackers\u2026give the halfback or fullback a chance to <\/div>\n
make some yardage.   That means putting your body in between the ball carrier<\/div>\n
and the attacking team.  Now, listen closely, this is what you must do.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And coach Burford had precise instructions which I remember now clearly<\/div>\n
nearly 70 years later.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Marjorie has set aside a football corner in our farm house\u2026in jeopardy of being taken over<\/div>\n
by hats.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
1) Drop into a three point stance.  Hand in front, both legs bent.<\/div>\n
Legs must be bent to give you the force necessary.  Straight legs<\/div>\n
are useless.  No leverage.<\/div>\n
2) When  ball is snapped you launch your body.  Raise your hand to<\/div>\n
your chest so that your shoulder is as large as possible. Do that fast.<\/div>\n
So doing increases the impact.<\/div>\n
3) Point your head into the hole.  Very important to do this.  Your <\/div>\n
head should be in the hole.  Less chance of attacker getting around you.<\/div>\n
4) Keep legs bent \u2026 use short choppy steps to get as much force<\/div>\n
as possible.   <\/div>\n
5) Do not grab the attacker.  No holding.  But try to push him aside.<\/div>\n
6) Spearing!  Do not spear with your head.   That also applies to<\/div>\n
tackling when you play defence.  Never hit with your head.  Use<\/div>\n
your head.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The coach spent more time with the backfield and particularly the<\/div>\n
quarterback who was the brain central of the team. But everyone<\/div>\n
had a role.   Even the lowly left guard like me.  I was part of the <\/div>\n
team.  My task was clear.  I was on the left.  My job was to knock<\/div>\n
people down or, at the very least, stop them from getting our<\/div>\n
quarterback, fullback or halfback.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
My brother became a right end.  He could race down the field and<\/div>\n
possibly receive a pass from the quarterback.  He had one of the<\/div>\n
glory positions.  To any observer I was likely invisible.  Part of the<\/div>\n
great pileup of bodies that happened on every play.  Fine by me.<\/div>\n
I was part of the team.  I had a team sweater\u2026.#55 for my whole<\/div>\n
career.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
PUTTING ME IN MY PLACE\u2026NEAR THE BOTTOM<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
A crisis developed at one game.  The quarterback had forgotten <\/div>\n
his spikes\u2026his football shoes.  Coach Bruford called us all together.<\/div>\n
\u201cBoys, I need a volunteer, a person to give up his spikes so our<\/div>\n
quarterback can play.\u201d  For the good  of the  team I raised my hand.<\/div>\n
\u201cNot yours, Skeoch, they are split in two.\u201d  A grand gesture, spurned.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
And on another occasion when I was very nervous I began to whistle.<\/div>\n
\u201cWho is whistling?\u201d asked the Coach.  I raised my hand.  \u201cCome over here and stand up<\/div>\n
on the bench.\u201d  He pointed at me standing there.  \u201cThis boy was whistling.<\/div>\n
He was showing overconfidence. That is how we could lose games.<\/div>\n
There will be no whistling on this team.\u201d  I was mortified\u2026humiliated in<\/div>\n
front of all the boys.  Later, when I got to know Coach Bruford well<\/div>\n
I realized he was looking for a way to get the team pepped up for the game.<\/div>\n
My whistling was the way.  Not a good experience for me.  I still<\/div>\n
whistle when in trouble.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
MY BEST FRIENDS <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Most of my best friends through life have been members of the<\/div>\n
various football teams to which I belonged.  Most of them were<\/div>\n
linemen like me.  Here I think of Russ Vanstone, Eddie Jackman,<\/div>\n
Gord Sanford, Jim Romaniuk.   The glory boys of the early teams<\/div>\n
did not even know our names.  But we knew each other.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
By Grades 11, 12 and 13,  I made first string left guard.<\/div>\n
In high school I was  nervous before each game.  I wondered<\/div>\n
how the other boys felt.  Most seemed confident\u2026free from nerves.<\/div>\n
Nervousness was not a bad thing.  I took the games very <\/div>\n
seriously lest i let Coach Burford down.  Not that I was sure<\/div>\n
he noticed me\u2026or even knew my first name.  I was Skeoch, Left Guard.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THE STORY OF \u2018WRONG WAY CUSH’<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Tension was part of the game.   But there was always humour as  well such<\/div>\n
as the case of \u2018Wrong way Cush\u2019.  He got that nickname for a reason.<\/div>\n
Cush intercepted a pass from the enemy quarterback which should have<\/div>\n
made him into a hero.  Had Cush run the right way\u2026i.e. towards the other<\/div>\n
team\u2019s goal posts, he would have been cheered.  But he did not.  He got confused<\/div>\n
and ran towards  our goal posts.  \u201cWrong Way Cush\u201d could have scored  a <\/div>\n
touchdown against his own team.  Everyone on the bench screamed  \u201cWrong<\/div>\n
Way, Cush!\u201d as loud as they could.  He thought they were cheering.  I don\u2019t <\/div>\n
remember how he was  stopped\u2026perhaps tackled to the ground by our own<\/div>\n
players.  He got that nickname, however, and that name stuck.’Wrong Way<\/div>\n
Cush\u2019.  Wouldn\u2019t it be nice if he read this story.  Still famous  after 65 years.<\/div>\n
 <\/div>\n
BOYS DO GET HURT\u2026BADLY<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
DON PHILLIPS\u2026CONCUSSION<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Players  get hurt in the game.  Some injuries do not surface until<\/div>\n
later in life.  Some surface right away.  Like the concussion that<\/div>\n
caused Don Phillips to suddenly go into convulsions one lunch hour<\/div>\n
while we were in a team chalk talk with coach Burford.  During football<\/div>\n
season the team met every launch hour in Coach Burford\u2019s room<\/div>\n
to plan our attacks on other schools.  Very intense meetings.  Piles<\/div>\n
of special mimeographed plays studied  such as the famous \u2018double reverse\u2019.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
When Don Phillips started to pound his desk I turned around<\/div>\n
shocked that he would interrupt Coach Burford.   What I saw was<\/div>\n
shocking.  His body was twitching.  His mouth foaming and head rolling.<\/div>\n
Involuntary muscles working at cross purposes.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cStand back, boys”, and Coach Burford put a ruler across Donnie\u2019s<\/div>\n
mouth so he would not bite his tongue i reasoned.   We never <\/div>\n
saw Don again.  Word was spread that the fit was caused by<\/div>\n
a pre-existing condition.  I never really believed that..  Don used<\/div>\n
his head in tackling practice I seemed to remember.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
There was a tendency not to blame the sport for the injuries. Shy?<\/div>\n
Reflected poorly on the game.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
ERIC SKEOCH\u2026MUD SPIKE IN CALF MUSCLE<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Another injury that upset me was when we were playing s game<\/div>\n
in the mud in the east end.  To get better purchase on muddy ground<\/div>\n
some boys changed their spikes.  Unscrewed the  nubs of aluminum<\/div>\n
and replaced them with longer stiletto spikes.  That gave them more purchase<\/div>\n
in the mud.   Mud spikes  became illegal later<\/div>\n
but not until after Eric, my brother, got spiked at Millen Stadium.<\/div>\n
I remember that gruesome spike hole in his calf filled to the top<\/div>\n
with mud.   Actually made me feel weak.  Rather than revenge I<\/div>\n
wanted to sit down.  We finished the game.  No one knew how bad<\/div>\n
Eric was hurt until Dr. Greenaway cleaned out the hole that <\/div>\n
evening.  The wound was so serious that the doctor gave me instrictions<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cTake this needle.  If Eric goes into a spell tonight then ram<\/div>\n
in the needle.\u201d  It was a huge thing.  And I would have to face <\/div>\n
the thing and ram it in then push the valve.  Never had to do it<\/div>\n
though.  Eric did not get a serous infection and a couple of<\/div>\n
weeks later he was back with the  team battling our way to <\/div>\n
the championship.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
ROGER PUGH\u2026KICK IN THE FACE<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Roger Pugh did something I found problematic.  He took the full force<\/div>\n
of the enemy kicker full in his face.  Part of our job on defence was to try<\/div>\n
and get the kicker before he got the kick away.  Roger did this by placing<\/div>\n
his face in direct line with the ascending foot of the kicker.  He got a<\/div>\n
kick in the face.  And he got a reward.  Coach Burford congratulated Roger<\/div>\n
as if he was a war hero placing his life in jeopardy for the sake of his country.<\/div>\n
I thought this was more an accident than deliberate.  Coach Burford<\/div>\n
praised it as a deliberate act that we might try to replicate.  If I got a kick in the<\/div>\n
face it would certainly be an accident.  Then, a year or so later, I  pulled a<\/div>\n
\u2018Roger Pugh\u2019 by making an excellent shoe string tackle with one hand in<\/div>\n
a cast and my finger held together by wire and pins.  Coach Burford was<\/div>\n
as surprised as I was.  He gave me a compliment.  \u201cNice Tackle, Skeoch\u2019.<\/div>\n
Why was I even on the field in such condition?  Because I wanted to be there<\/div>\n
with the team.  Why did Coach Burford allow me on the field?  Because he did not\u2019<\/div>\n
know about my operation.  But he also knew that heroics<\/div>\n
 burned very deep in the teen-age mind.  I guess.<\/div>\n
I really hoped a couple of girls were watching.  They were not.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
MOM\u2026ELSIE SKEOCH\u2026TOLD ERIC\u2019S HEAD WAS NOW LOBSIDED<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
We, Eric and I, developed a kind of sick humour playing football.<\/div>\n
Like the time we came home from a game with Russ Vanstone driving<\/div>\n
his father’s magnificent 1954 Chevrolet.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Normally a  football helmet is perfectly round.  Designed to cradle a human skull.  A face mask<\/div>\n
it attached to prevent facial injuries.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now imagine this helmet split in two \u2026 only held together by the face mask.  Think of yourself as our mother, Elsie Skeoch, <\/div>\n
when she was told  Eric had been hurt in a football game.  Would you scream?   A bad joke.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s have some fun with Mom, Eric. You come upstairs later than me.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow was the game, boys?\u201d mom greeted me.<\/div>\n
\u201cEric had an accident.\u201d<\/div>\n
Whereupon I rolled his smashed helmet across the stair landing\u2026it was cracked<\/div>\n
open and oblong rather than smooth and round.  Russ had backed his car<\/div>\n
over Eric\u2019s helmet after the game.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
“OH, DEAR\u201d  mom screamed.  Which we thought was hilarious.  Of course, mom<\/div>\n
could have had a heart attack.  That would not be funny.   Unlikely though, mom<\/div>\n
had a tough constitution and expected some rough spots in life.  After all, she loved<\/div>\n
a husband who was unpredictable at the best of times.  Sometimes truth was difficult<\/div>\n
to ascertain.  Her boys had that same tendency.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
THIS LEADS TO THE INJURY THAT CHANGED MY LIFE\u2026MY LITTLE FINGER<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Coach Burford taught all the lineman another way to take out an attacker.  It was<\/div>\n
called the \u2018cross body block\u2019 which involved throwing your body at right angles<\/div>\n
to an outside corner backer who was about to tackle your ball carrying half back.<\/div>\n
The block amounted to nearly six feet of a lineman\u2019s body blunting the attack by<\/div>\n
a corner backer.  Very effective.  I enjoyed doing cross body blocks and got very<\/div>\n
good at it.  Always got close enough that it was my hip that knocked down the corner <\/div>\n
linebacker.  Great fun.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then things went terribly wrong.  Such a silly injury but bad enough to change my life<\/div>\n
irrevocably.  When  throwing a cross body block I always landed spread eagled on the<\/div>\n
ground.  No problem, we were padded from head to toe.  Except for our hands.<\/div>\n
On that particular day I landed, perhaps in pile with the outside corner backer.<\/div>\n
My hand was on the ground and our own fullback ran over it.  Crushed it sort of.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The tip of my little left finger was broken.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
To those of you reading this story that injury must seem minor, especially after<\/div>\n
reading about Donnie Phillips concussion and Eric Skeoch\u2019s torn and mud filled<\/div>\n
calf muscle.  Or Roger Pugh\u2019s kick in the face. Or even the horror story we told mother about Eric\u2019s imaginary <\/div>\n
head injury.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Minor Indeed!   That ilttle finger injury changed my life in so many ways<\/div>\n
which I will describe in Part Two.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Suffice to say that I could now know the difference between right ant left.<\/div>\n
When someone says \u201cLook over on your left\u201d or \u201cTurn left here\u201d or “look<\/div>\n
at that girl over on the left side of the street\u201d.    i immediately touch my<\/div>\n
little broken finger.  That is my left.  There is still a bit of a time lag but nothing<\/div>\n
like there used to be.<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n

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This is  my left hand.  I know that now because I can touch where it was broken.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Sept. 2020<\/div>\n

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<\/div>\n
 (Alan Skeoch \u2014 alan.skeoch@rogers.com<\/a><\/a>) <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A  NOTE:  IF you did not receive Episode 122 there is a reason.  I felt it was just too brutal for your tender ears. A subjective decision.  The topic includes  a letter from my good friend Robert Root who was forced to visit the hog killing floor at the St. Clair slaughter house when he […]<\/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-5779","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5779","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=5779"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5779\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5779"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5779"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}