The following are based on
actual facts, but my friend Yatendra Singh has just added his own language and
morale to them to make them more personal and interesting.
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 at his craft! In fact, Eddie’s
skill at legal maneuvering kept Big Al out of jail for a long time. To show his
appreciation, Capone paid Eddie 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 the conveniences of the day. The
estate was so large it filled an entire Chicago city block. Eddie lived the
high-life of the Chicago mob and gave little consideration to the atrocities
that went on around him.
Eddie did have one soft-spot, however. He had a son whom 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 own
involvement with organized crime, Eddie even tried to teach his son right from
wrong. Eddie wanted the boy to be a better man than he was. Yet, with all of
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. He wanted
to rectify wrongs he had done. He decided to go to the authorities and tell the
truth about Al “Scarface” Capone, clean up his tarnished name, and thereby
offer his son some semblance of integrity. To do this, he would have to testify
against The Mob, and he knew the cost would be great. But he testified anyway.
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 could 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. We 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 calibers blazed as he charged
in, attacking one surprised enemy plan 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 plane limped back to the carrier.
Upon arrival, Butch 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 his 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 World War 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 hometown would not allow the memory of this WWII 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 a statue of him 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.
Morale: You reap what you sow, and your deeds, whether good
or bad, reflect in your children. It’s for you to decide…food for thought!
*****
Linda’ Lee Greene's novel “Jesus
Gandhi Oma Mae Adams,” co-authored with Debra Shiveley Welch is at http://amzn.to/VazHFG
