“A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.  Proverbs 22:1

My mother lived in Chicago during the years of Al Capone, so stories of that era have fascinated me.  Al Capone represented all that was wrong in the “windy city.”  He had a lawyer nicknamed “Easy Eddie” and because of his legal maneuvering, kept Big Al out of jail for many years. To show his appreciation, Capone paid Eddie handsomely.  Eddie and his family lived in a fenced-in mansion with all that money could buy for their happiness.  Eddie lived the high life of the Chicago mob and gave little thought to the criminal activity around him.

Eddie did have one soft spot. He had a son who he loved dearly.  He saw to it his son had the best of everything:  clothes, cars and a good education.  And, in spite of his involvement with organized crime, Eddie tried to teach him right from wrong.  Eddie wanted his son to be a better man than he was!  Yet, with all his wealth, there were two things he could not pass on:  a good name and a good example.  One day, Eddie reached a difficult decision.  He wanted to rectify wrongs he had done, so he went to the authorities and told them the truth about Al Capone.  To do this, he had to testify against the Mob and he knew the cost would be great.  Within a year, Easy Eddie’s life ended in a glaze of gunfire on a quiet street in Chicago.  In his eyes, he had given his son the best gift he had to offer, at the greatest price he would ever pay!

Fast forward to World War II and the heroes it produced.  Lt. Commander Butch O’Hare was a fighter pilot on the carrier Lexington in the South Pacific.  One day, his entire squadron was sent on a mission.  After he was airborne, he noticed someone had forgotten to top off his gas tank.  He would not have enough fuel to complete the mission, so he was ordered to return to the carrier.  As he was returning, he spotted a squadron of Japanese aircraft speeding toward the American fleet.  He couldn’t reach his squadron or the fleet to warn them, so at great personal safety, he dove into the Japanese planes, guns blazing!  Butch wove in and out of the enemy planes, firing until all his ammunition was spent, clipping wings here, tails there until the enemy flew off in another direction.  Butch limped back to the carrier, the camera mounted on his plane told the tale.  He had destroyed five enemy aircraft.  Butch was later killed in combat, but for his daring escapade, he received the Congressional Medal of Honor.

So what did these two men have in common?  Butch O’Hare was Easy Eddie’s son!  The next time you pass through O’Hare Airport in Chicago, visit the memorial statue honoring Butch O’Hare.

Eddie was not able to pass on his good name, or an example of what a father should be.  He fell far short!  A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold.  Proverbs 22:1.  I don’t know if either of these men ever accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Only heaven will reveal it.  When Eddie was killed, inside his coat pocket was found a rosary, a crucifix and a poem that 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.”

 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”         Ephesians 6:1

Your friend, Jean