Once in a while something comes along that's worth
putting in your speech
or personal file.
This is one such item of wisdom and insight into
the power of a single
individual's ability to impact others. These
stories put the roles of
parent and manager in an interesting perspective
STORY # 1
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
his 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.
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 the best of
everything: 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; that he couldn't pass on a
good name and a good
example.
One day, Easy Eddie reached a difficult decision.
Easy Eddie wanted to
rectify wrongs he had done. He decided he would go
to the authorities and
tell the truth about Al "Scar face" 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 would ever pay.
STORY # 2
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 h 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
their 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 and 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
Congressional 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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