DEAR EDITOR:

Birds of a feather flock together. There is an old prison quiz among cell mates. What bird can’t fly? The usual response would be “a Yard-bird.” When caught by the law, their wings are clipped.

Al Capone is often cited as the most famous gangster in history, due to his rise to power as the boss of the Chicago outfit during the Prohibition era, where he built an empire through illegal activities like gambling, bootlegging and bribery.

Quotes by Al Capone include:

“Hell must be a pretty swell spot, because the guys that invented religion have been trying hard to keep everybody else out.” and “They can’t collect taxes from illegal money.”

Capone’s life was a roll of the dice, “Seven come eleven.” He rolled the nest for approximately seven years, from 1925-1931, when he was imprisoned for tax evasion.

His reign as the boss of the Chicago outfit ended after his conviction in 1931 and he was sentenced to 11 years in prison. No one is all good or all bad. He balanced ruthless violence with acts of public charity, having run a soup kitchen.

“The Night Chicago Died,” by Paper Lace:

Daddy was a cop on the east side of Chicago

Back in the USA, back in the bad old days

In the heat of a summer night

In the land of the dollar bill

When the town of Chicago died

And they talk about it still

When a man named Al Capone

Tried to make that town his own

And he called his gang to war

With the forces of the law

I heard my mama cry

I heard her pray the night Chicago died

Brother, what a night it really was

Brother, what a fight it really was

Glory be

I heard my mama cry

I heard her pray the night Chicago died

Brother, what a night the people saw

Brother, what a fight the people saw

Yes, indeed

And the sound of the battle rang

Through the streets of the old east side

‘Til the last of the hoodlum gang

Had surrendered up or died

There was shouting in the street

And the sound of running feet

And I asked someone who said

“‘Bout a hundred cops are dead!”

I heard my mama cry

I heard her pray the night Chicago died

Brother, what a night it really was

Brother, what a fight it really was

Glory be

I heard my mama cry

I heard her pray the night Chicago died

Brother, what a night the people saw

Brother, what a fight the people saw

Yes, indeed

Then there was no sound at all

But the clock up on the wall

Then the door burst open wide

And my daddy stepped inside

And he kissed my mama’s face

And he brushed her tears away

The night Chicago died

(Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na, na-na-na)

The night Chicago died

Brother, what a night the people saw

Brother, what a fight the people saw

Yes, indeed

The night Chicago died

(Na-na-na, na-na-na, na-na, na-na-na)

The night Chicago died

Brother, what a night it really was

Brother, what a fight it really was

Glory be

PAUL R. LAWSON

McDonald