Post by Grenade on Jun 30, 2008 23:02:23 GMT
Horseshoes & Hand Grenades
Home of the Hershey's kiss, Hershey's chocolate of all varieties, and even Mr. Hershey himself. Not quite as famous as Mr. Wonka, he is content in the belief that at least he does not employ foreign workers for a pittance of minimum wage. At least, not that he advertises on tours. But the point is, Hershey, Pennsylvania is surprisingly well-known for such a small town.
But what really goes on behind what all the tourists see?
The think it was the townies that started it. Fifty years ago, Hershey underwent a very peculiar change. It was quiet, idyllic, the perfect place for those with too much money and not enough free time to go to hide themselves from the world. To obtain a little free time, so to speak. Unfortunately, this did not sit well with the natives. As the story goes, the citizens of Hershey banded together and shot one of the visiting celebrities. Rumors are unclear as to which celebrity was shot, which is odd by itself. But what is odder, is the townies insist it was the visiting celebrities that started the fight.
What did they do to start it? No one knows. Not even the townies.
Time passed, of course, as it always does, and before long, the townies had created a small group of enforcers to keep away those who "didn't belong there." They were called "the Badge," a direct take off the idea of police: after all, they had been born there, they had every right to be there, and the visiting Richie Riches did not. Does that sound like they were asking for retaliation to you? Because it does to me. And that was exactly what they got. Soon, the celebrities started sending out their action-starved sons in an attempt to get all that aggressiveness out of their systems in a way the media wouldn't be able to see. These referred to themselves as "Grenades" which, new at the time, had recently become known for their ability to take out large numbers of people with one effortless shot. It was the way the celebrities viewed the Hershey natives: easy to take out with one simple throw.
But the so-called Grenades were very wrong about that. The gang wars have continued for over fifty years now, the hatred deeply instilled in those who live in Hershey, the descendants of both rival gangs. The turn of the tide goes back and forth between the two groups, each one almost wiping out the other. But remember, almost only counts in Horseshoes & Hand Grenades.