by Frank Butry

Created on: February 10, 2010

I had real heroes when I was growing up, heroes I could see everyday and talk to as well. They were the mobsters who lived in my city. Hell, these guys were real, real heroes. They represented the American dream, they had no jobs, loads of money, great looking broads, and better cars than they were giving away on Lets Make A Deal. Furthermore, they taught me words to use that would make a lumberjack blush.

OK, so they couldn't leap tall buildings, but they could throw people off of them, they were not as fast as a speeding bullet, but fired alot of them, and as being more powerful than a locamotive, they owned most of our politicians. Just what the hell is a locamotive anyway? These guys could appear outta nowhere, especially if you owed them money. And they were pschyic too. I swear fat Tony would know every winner at Yonkers. I mean every night too.

Role models. You betcha. Every Sunday, they were all at church. Sitting with their old age moms, with the whole family around them, usually not their girlfriends though. ya gotta have some class, huh? And they were always talking to the local cops. The police were with these guys all the time. The Boy Scouts had nothin on these guys, they always helped people cross the street. Although there were rumors that some people never made it to the other side, just rumors man.

Todays kids have a fat zero for heroes. I can't imagine Super Mario staying up all night playing craps, or if Laura Croft could hold her own in a all night poker game, smoking good cigars too. Somehow, I am willing to bet, all the new smoking laws in New York won't be enforced in their clubs. Kobe slam dunkong? Big deal, lets see him do that to someones head.

Unfortunatly, all these guys have gone to the graybar motel, that jail for those of you who don;t know American slang, or have just gone away. I miss them all, the bootlegging, the bookies and all the jobs they created. Bootlegging disappeared because Joe Kennedy got his kids elected. And as for bookies, its called OTB now. I think. Most of these guys passed their heroic batons too our present day lawyers and politicians, who find endless ways of shaking us down with new taxes. And strongarms? Just have to call the IRS.

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