FRIENDLY BATTLES
by Tony Hann

Although this little story may seem violent and warlike to some who read it, I tell it so you can see this little rivalry that existed between Big Merasheen and Little Merasheen. We never did mean to do serious harm to each other and, for the life of me, I never did find out where one or the other of the Merasheens started and ended officially.

But we had our boundaries - Big Merasheen started where Mr. Tommy Pittman lived. So be it. The tale begins.

Most, if not every evening after school, we would gather on the hill back at where our house stood and wait for the Big Merasheen boys to get to the bottom at Martin's Height and turn for home.

Then Battles Royal would ensue. We would rain rocks down on top of them, taunt them with, ‘get home ya big Merasheen crowd’. Of course, they wouldn't go home. They would stop and rock us. They had a great disadvantage as they had to throw up hill and a fair distance at that. This would continue until we all got sick of it.

Nobody got seriously hurt, but Edwin Rose, if I remember correctly, and I do, would get hit every evening. He was like a magnet for the rocks the boys threw up hill. Poor Edwin would go home every evening bleeding a fair amount, but never enough to do serious harm to him.

The next morning, the previous evening would never be talked about unless Loyola or someone asked if Edwin got hit again last evening. I, myself, had no animosity for the Big Merasheen boys and I know the rest from Little Merasheen didn't have any either. We played ball together, played hockey together, went to garden parties around the bay together, and chased the girls together.

It was just something we did when we were very young. I guess it was to have superiority or some other such foolish thing to suit our fancy.

One more thing, I remain on friendly terms with all the Big Merasheen crowd to this day.

PS: Lest I offend someone, not all the boys from either Big or Little Merasheen participated in these games. To all of us who were involved that's just what it was - A GAME - with never any intention to hurt each other, but as I remember it now, it's darn strange nobody ever was. Isn't it Edwin?