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Squeak and the Mustangs (Part 3)

Squeak screamed
like every other coach I had
but somehow I don't think he was afraid of the four horsemen of the apocalypse
even if he did remind me of ring wraith
Nazgul
with his smoker's hack
and colourful vocabulary
Image result for ring wraith
Squeak often entered the dressing room after the First Period
and told us we were skating like old ladies
and that our scoring production was horseshit
and that we weren't hitting
and it was hitting that won games
because it tired the other team out

to prepare for Squeak's training camp
the Calgary Mustangs
Image result for "calgary mustangs" vintage hockey
named after the car
that was hoisted on a pedestal
Image result for vintage ford mustang on a hoist
prairie public sculpture
advertising art
the way we called crude oil Texas Tea
and it had nothing to do with the Beverly Hillbillies
and sponsored by the local Ford dealership
Maclin Ford
then on McLeod Trail
we took power skating with Howie Meeker's Hockey School
Image result for power skating howie meeker
at Rose Kohn Arena
Image result for "rose kohn arena"
after that it was Deal Cassidy'sCalgary Booster Club Hockey School
and getting chased around the rink by Calgary Dinos coach Schneider
Image result for "Calgary Dinos hockey" and coach schneider
in a game of rabbit
you got a head start from the hash marks to the blue line
and if he caught you he slapped your ass with the blade of his stick
all the way around the ice
which was motive enough to hustle

and when you had made the cut
and played the season
and got hives from a chocolate milkshake
somewhere on the road
maybe Three Hills
Image result for three hills alberta
there was time to enjoy
Stampede Wresting at the Corral

where Squeak made the ice
and watch Ed Whalen from CHCT (2&7) whack
any number of dummies
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over the head
with his mike
every week it was somebody different who got clobbered
it didn't really matter who
whether it was Gene Kiniski or Killer Kowalski
Image result for stampede wrestling vintage
Klondike Bill or Man Mountain Mike
Image result for stampede wrestling vintageImage result for "Man mountain mike"
Antonio Argentina Rocco or Angelo Mosca
Image result for "stampede wrestling" and "Antonio Rocca"Image result for angelo moscaImage result for angelo moscaImage result for angelo moscaImage result for angelo mosca
the British Bulldogs or the Kiwis or the Wild Samoans
Image result for "tag team" and Stampede wrestlingImage result for stampede wrestling the kiwisRelated image
Sweet Daddy Seki or Archie the Stomper
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ex football players all
it was all just wrastlin'
good clean fun
and apparently acting
although I never noticed
and didn't know anybody else who did
still in those days there was no question of making fun of somebody else's culture
everybody did a good job of dissing their own

and so I learned the lessons of Squeak
being smoked at in the dressing room
and having my skates sharpened between periods
because that's what the pros do
and skating better than a granny
and bending my ankles less than a possum
and going in the corners
for the cherry picker in front of the net
and otherwise being Jonah
"Jonah and the Whale", Folio from a Jami al-Tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles), Ink, opaque watercolor, gold, and silver on paperRelated image
for the chance to get the puck
and score a goal
or get an assist.
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