Two stories

Old 02-11-2012, 04:39 AM
  #1  
fla1976
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Default Two stories

Two Stories BOTH TRUE - and worth reading!!!!

STORY NUMBER ONE:

Many years ago, Al Capone virtually owned Chicago . Capone wasn't famous for anything heroic. He was notorious for enmeshing the windy city in everything from bootlegged booze and prostitution to murder.

Capone had a lawyer nicknamed "Easy Eddie." He was Capone's lawyer for a good reason. Eddie was very good! In fact, Eddie's skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time.

To show his appreciation, Capone paid him very well. Not only was the money big, but Eddie got special dividends, as well. For instance, he and his family occupied a fenced-in mansion with live-in help and all of the conveniences of the day. The estate was so large that it filled an entire Chicago City block.

Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocity that went on around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot, however. He had a son that he loved dearly. Eddie saw to it that his young son had clothes, cars, and a good education. Nothing was withheld. Price was no object.

And, despite his involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach him right from wrong. Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was.

Yet, with all his wealth and influence, there were two things he couldn't give his son; he couldn't pass on a good name or a good example.

One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision. Easy Eddie wanted to rectify the wrongs he had done...

He decided he would go to the authorities and tell the truth about Al "Scarface" Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify against The Mob, and he knew that the cost would be great. So, he testified.

Within the year, Easy Eddie's life ended in a blaze of gunfire on a lonely Chicago Street . But in his eyes, he had given his son the greatest gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he could ever pay. Police removed from his pockets a rosary, a crucifix, a religious medallion, and a poem clipped from a magazine.

The poem read:

"The clock of life is wound but once, and no man has the power to tell just when the hands will stop, at late or early hour. Now is the only time you own. Live, love, toil with a will. Place no faith in time. For the clock may soon be still."



STORY NUMBER TWO:

World War II produced many heroes. One such man was Lieutenant Commander Butch O'Hare. He was a fighter pilot assigned to the aircraft carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.

One day his entire squadron was sent on a mission. After he was airborne, he looked at his fuel gauge and realized that someone had forgotten to top off his fuel tank. He would not have enough fuel to complete his mission and get back to his ship. His flight leader told him to return to the carrier. Reluctantly, he dropped out of formation and headed back to the fleet.

As he was returning to the mother ship, he saw something that turned his blood cold; a squadron of Japanese aircraft was speeding its way toward the American fleet.

The American fighters were gone on a sortie, and the fleet was all but defenseless. He couldn't reach his squadron and bring them back in time to save the fleet. Nor could he warn the fleet of the approaching danger. There was only one thing to do. He must somehow divert them from the fleet.

Laying aside all thoughts of personal safety, he dove into the formation of Japanese planes. Wing-mounted 50 caliber's blazed as he charged in, attacking one surprised enemy plane and then another. Butch wove in and out of the now broken formation and fired at as many planes as possible until all his ammunition was finally spent. Undaunted, he continued the assault. He dove at the planes, trying to clip a wing or tail in hopes of damaging as many enemy planes as possible, rendering them unfit to fly. Finally, the exasperated Japanese squadron took off in another direction. Deeply relieved, Butch O'Hare and his tattered fighter limped back to the carrier.

Upon arrival, he reported in and related the event surrounding his return. The film from the gun-camera mounted on his plane told the tale. It showed the extent of Butch's daring attempt to protect his fleet. He had, in fact, destroyed five enemy aircraft.. This took place on February 20, 1942 , and for that action Butch became the Navy's first Ace of W.W.II, and the first Naval Aviator to win the Medal of Honor.

A year later Butch was killed in aerial combat at the age of 29. His home town would not allow the memory of this WW II hero to fade, and today, O'Hare Airport in Chicago is named in tribute to the courage of this great man.

So, the next time you find yourself at O'Hare International, give some thought to visiting Butch's memorial displaying his statue and his Medal of Honor. It's located between Terminals 1 and 2.


SO WHAT DO THESE TWO STORIES HAVE TO DO WITH EACH OTHER?


Butch O'Hare was "Easy Eddie's" son.
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Old 02-11-2012, 05:42 AM
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Man, that gave me goosebumps! Great stories!
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As close to "Normal" as I can get...
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Old 02-11-2012, 08:27 AM
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Ditto, Bone...wow.............

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Old 02-12-2012, 03:24 AM
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the son has all my respectbut easy eddie is or was lowlife.he was trusted and he turned. i dont like people who roll on someone else.whatever the reason.
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Old 02-12-2012, 07:21 AM
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Great stories, Kinda get's you thinking :!: :!:


Mark
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Old 02-12-2012, 11:49 AM
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I wouldn't call a man trying to clean up his life "rolling on someone". You gotta respect a man for doing what's right regardless of the outcome. Bad decisions do not make someone a bad person. If you screw up and then decide to straighten your act up then that is commendable in my book.

Speaking of which, did you know that Capone took care of the poor people in Chicago, and created several jobs? He also was instrumental in making it a law to put date stamps on milk, after seeing poor children getting sick from drinking spoiled milk. This also led to date stamps being put on all perishable foods. Not that I'm siding with the guy. But you gotta give credit where credit is due.

JMO
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Old 02-14-2012, 05:06 AM
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everyone knows big al ran soup kitchens.and had gambling operations in the back.there was a 2 fold reason for doing so.as he seem to love the limelite it was best to have the people of chicago on his side.worked pretty good until feb 14.then the tide turned on him.
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Old 02-14-2012, 05:12 AM
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olds48. its still rolling on someone. he was part of the underworld of chicago. a TRUSTED part.he could have straighten out his life by walking away(moving away would have been healthyer.)and kept his mouth shut.im all for a man turning his life around.believe me when i tell you i know all about it.but when you do you do NOT open your mouth.if you get your butt shot then you have it coming.you dont bring down the ones who trusted you and may have been your friend at one time.
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Old 02-14-2012, 08:56 PM
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I can tell you it was alot more than soup kitchens. I have a good friend whose Grandfather worked for Al Capone. It was all legit too,before someone goes off on a rant about that. I'm not saying Al Capone was a fine upstanding pillar of the community,but some people are only known for the bad things they have done. What if people only knew of the bad things me and you have done? Probably no one would talk to us. Once you get involved with organized crime there is no "walking away". I would get my uncle to explain that to you..but he can't...he's dead. He tried to "walk away".
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Old 02-15-2012, 03:06 AM
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we need to talk.for one i do know about how chicago was and still is run.i ran the streets.and not as some type gangbanger either. i have family who lived very well off the good people of the city.and yes sir you can walk away. but that also depends on the circumstance.i have been to funerals for people who should have kept their mouth shut.4 of them before i was 18 yrs old.i also ran with a notoriuos m.c. club in chicago. i know all about how things work from the well dressed to the scum. oh yea studied all about mr al.also been to his house in cicero. pretty plain old house.my moms uncle cook for al in a kitchen when he was hiding from the law. he ran with charles arthur floyd.he was suppose to meet up with him but the feds got him in the feild first.when the news hit chicago that charlie was down my great uncle headed back to tn. my family is one or two generations away from that kinda life.pm me i can tell you some pretty cool history.from the other side lol. if it wasnt for my love of hotrods racing and custom bikes aint no tellin where id be.lol
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