Even if they slap you six times on each hand with the ash plant or the
blackthorn with the knobs you must not cry.Youll be a sissy. There
are boys who might jeer at you and mock you on the street but even
they have to be careful because the day will come when the master hits
and slaps them and they have to keep the tears behind their eyes or be
disgraced forever. Some boys say it is better to cry because that pleases
the masters. If you dont cry the masters hate you because youve made
them look weak before the class and they promise themselves the next
time they have you up theyll draw tears or blood or both.
Big boys in fifth class tell us Mr. ODea likes to get you in front of
the class so that he can stand behind you, pinch your sideburns, which
are called cossicks, pull up on them. Up, up, he says, till youre on tiptoe
and the tears are filling your eyes.You dont want the boys in the class
to see you cry but pulling on the cossicks makes the tears come whether
you like it or not and the master likes that. Mr. ODea is the one mas-
ter who can always bring the tears and the shame.
It is better not to cry because you have to stick with the boys in the
school and you never want to give the masters any satisfaction.
If the master hits you theres no use complaining to your father or
mother.They always say,You deserve it. Dont be a baby.
I know Oliver is dead and Malachy knows Oliver is dead but Eugene is
too small to know anything.When he wakes in the morning he says,
Ollie, Ollie, and toddles around the room looking under the beds or he
climbs up on the bed by the window and points to children on the
street, especially children with fair hair like him and Oliver. Ollie, Ollie,
he says, and Mam picks him up, sobs, hugs him. He struggles to get
down because he doesnt want to be picked up and hugged. He wants
to find Oliver.
Dad and Mam tell him Oliver is in heaven playing with angels and
well all see him again someday but he doesnt understand because hes
only two and doesnt have the words and thats the worst thing in the
whole world.
Malachy and I play with him. We try to make him laugh. We
make funny faces.We put pots on our heads and pretend to let them fall
off.We run across the room and pretend to fall down.We take him to
the Peoples Park to see the lovely flowers, play with dogs, roll in the
grass.
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