A Chicago story

Shootings! Random killings. Even schools and shopping malls are no longer safe. The whole world was shocked when kids were shot in their schools, and we wonder, “What is happening to the world today?”

We instinctively blame violent and bloody TV programs, gruesome movies and computer games. Angry people even march against weapon possession. While media and video games certainly have their fair share of influence in desensitizing people; what would surprise many is the result revealed by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The FBI studied the 17 kids that have shot their classmates in little towns like Paducah, Kentucky; Pearl, Mississippi; and Littleton, Colorado. All 17 shooters had only one thing in common: they had a father problem. It’s just unbelievable. There’s something about it when a man doesn’t get along with his father. It makes him mean; dangerous; and it makes him angry.

Today, more and more children are growing up to become orphans with living parents. They’re out there somewhere in some parts of the world toiling and laboring to earn money to provide for their family and keep our economy afloat. Whether we care to admit or not, there is a social cost to all of these. Some fathers have also made some dumb decisions in their lives abandoning their family or getting involved with questionable vices and activities that have put a lot of strain and tension on the kids.

Things like these are not usually topics of discussion, especially during parties but you and I know they exist. There is hope. As long as fathers are determined to make things right then, it will never be too late.

Here is an old story, but it always touches my heart every time I read it and this involved Slick Eddie. Eddie was the slickest of the slick lawyers. He was one of the soldiers of Al Capone; he ran the gangster’s dog tracks. He mastered the simple technique of fixing the race by overfeeding seven dogs and betting on the eight.

Wealth, status and style. Slick Eddie had it all. But one day he decided to turn himself in. He offered to squeal on Capone and nobody understood why. What was the motive? Didn’t Eddie know the surefire consequences of ratting on the mob? He knew. But he had made up his mind. What did he have to gain? What could society give him that he didn’t have? He had money, power, prestige. So what was the hitch? Eddie revealed the hitch.

His son. Eddie had spent his life with the despicable. He had smelled the stench of the underground long enough. For his son, he wanted more. He wanted to give his son a name. And to give his son a name, he would have to clear his own. Eddie was willing to take a risk so that his son could have a clean slate. Slick Eddie never saw his dream come true. After Eddie squealed, the mob remembered. Two shotgun blasts silenced him forever. Now you tell me. Was it worth it? For the son, it was.

Slick Eddie’s boy lived up to the sacrifice. Had Eddie lived to see his son Butch grow up, he would have been proud. He would have been proud of Butch’s appointment to Annapolis. He would have been proud of the commissioning as a World War 2 Navy Pilot. He would have been proud as he read of his son downing five enemy bombers in the Pacific night and saving the lives of hundreds of crewmen on the carrier Lexington. The name was cleared. The Congressional Medal of Honor which Butch received was proof.

Today, Butch is one of the best-known names in the world. When people say the name O’Hare in Chicago, they don’t think gangsters – they think aviation and heroism. And now when you say his name, you have something else to think about. Think about the sacrifice of a gangster who wanted to make things right. Think about a father who loved his son enough to give him a good name. Think about it the next time you fly into the airport named after the son of a gangster gone good.

The son of Eddie O’Hare, the former lawyer of Al Capone. That’s the story of a true father’s love and sacrifice. This story taken from Max Lucado’s book “And the Angels Were Silent” touches even the hardest heart and offers hope.

On the spiritual front; when we know the meaning and the depth of God’s love for us and the sacrifice of His son for His children, changes everything too. And then to all the dads that have been toiling, laboring, hustling and grinding for the love for their family... what more can I say but a belated “Happy Father’s Day!” You will always be the true heroes to the ones who love you the most.

(Two exciting and inspiring days of leadership training with Francis Kong is about to happen. Attend this highly acclaimed Level Up Leadership seminar-workshop on July 17-18 at Seda Hotel, BGC. For registration or inquiries contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)