For the 69th Street Loafers:1965 -Mohair Sam - The Coolest Guy That Is What Am!

Mostly Italian from 69th and Hermitage. This includes: 68th and Wood Street Lil Loafers and 68th and Damen Lil Loafers. In 1959, they congregated at 66th and Honore.

I have two words for all the aging Loafers, Louie George's!

Rascal Flats? Girls, I Like Flat Rascals

The Real Rascals!
The guys that hired them for a show at Orchestra Hall in the late 1960's -Peter Max and the Swami.

My daughter Clare and the Entourage of St. Cajetan's ( Now Mother McAuley, Marist, & St. Ignatius Prep Debs) are going to see Rascal Flats at the Music venue in Tinley Park, Illinois that changes its name every other week ( Tweeter, World Music, Eddie Carroll's Roofing Palace of Stax o' Wax e.g.) this evening. They have saved up a considerable amount of cabbage from baby-sitting local breeder clans, digging and potting plants at Olivia's Garden on Western, hostessing at The Great Beverly Pancake Haus, or waitressing at Ridge Country Club.

Rascal Flats is some kind of cleaned-up hillbilly band -"Life is a Highway."

I am a Rascal Fan! The Original Rascals Eddie Brigatti, Felix Cavaleri, Dino Danelli and the Irish guy on guit-box Gene Cornish and etc. These guys were very much like our Italian buddies from north of the tracks - the 69th Street Loafers.

These Rascals are New Jersey Soul guys -urban rangers. I was blessed to witness these guys and get paid for it at Chicago Symphony Center -it was Orchestra Hall back then.

Peter Max the psychedelic artiste and the bearded Yogi -Swami Satchidananda who was on Mike Douglas Show and Dick Cavett every other day, wanted to put on the concert of Flowers and Love! They did. Orchestra Hall smelled like Sheehy's Funeral Home after the promoters trucked in more flowers than a gangster's funeral. Peter Max had the place looking like a glue sniffer's nightmare.

The one thing that was cool- the promoters hired a bunch of Jersey tough guys to play.


The Young Rascals! They were good guys as I recall - drank beers - and we were as weird-ed out by the goofy set-up and theme as everyone else. Hell, a job is a job. I cleaned ashtrays and the Rascals rocked! Ticket sales were . . .modest - the show went over like a turd in a punchbowl. The Hall was emptier than MSNBC.

However, the Rascals were pros! They put on a great show.

MazelTov, Doug and Christine!

I love weddings. My own in 1983 was a dandy - I married the lovely and strong Mary Elizabeth Cleary at St. Mary's Church in Kankakee, Illinois. My tall red-headed French/Irish bride was stunning in an old fashioned bridal gown that might have been worn in the 19th Century by a French bride in Martinton, or L'Erable. Mary was crowned with a garland of white flowers. My God she was beautiful. Lisa Goodman, of Brides Compleat in Kankakee decked me out in a cut-awys black tux, but I still managed to look like Riddles Barlow. My massive southside Irish family arrived by the bus loads from Chicago and packed the tiny Church on Washington Street, behind the Dean's Ice Cream plant and south of St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

My cousin, Father Bart Winters officiated along with Fathers Ken Yarno, and Irwin Savela of the Viatorians. Follwoing the Sacrement of Marriage and the wedding Mass we repaired to the Knights of Columbus, St. Viator Council across the street from the Kankakee Court House for a wedding party that danced well into the following day. It was reported that several guests maintained the festivities for a good 48 hours. My Kankakee and Chicago families merged and bonded in way that launched fifteen of the happiest years of my life. Mary went home to Christ in 1998. My three kids periodically brouse the wedding pictures.

Tomorrow, I will attend the wedding of my friends Doug and Christine who will be blessed in the dual Jewish ceremonies of the erusin and the nissuin - the former sanctifies the couple and the later launches their life together. This takes place under the Huppa -the Bridal canopy. The last Jewish wedding I attended was between my cousin John and Robin. That one raised the bar on fun and beauty.

Doug is Jewish from birth and Chritine was bpatized a Catholic but converted to Judaism. Christine was from St. Justin Martyr, over the tracks at 75th Street from my house in Little Flower, and hung out with the 69th Street Loafers. The beautiful woman who allows me to be seen publicly in her company sings Choral Music with Doug and Christine.

Tomorrow the wildly happy couple bonds with God, family and friends. Any God centered activity launches a happy outcome - happy in the purest of meanings - not Charlie Sheen happy. Happiness requires effort, humility, and selfless love. we are most unhappy without those virtues, it seems to me. God blesses our pain, as well as our pleasure. The Seven Blessings recited by the rabbi and friends seals the deal. Doug will smash the wine glass with his right foot to approving shouts of Mazel Tov, in remembrance of life's twists and turns and the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans. "If I foget thee, O Jerusalem . . ."

Not a chance. Mazel Tov!

Coalition of Old Greasers Calls for Counter Protest to Protest Called by Radicals Protesting Police '68 Reunion

A Coalition of Old Greaser Gangs is Settin' a Meet-up with Don Rose and his Aging Cupcakes!

Cadillac Commie with Bad Buckers 'PROVOKES' an Illinois National Guardsman-not Dick Butkus for this Dental Challenged but Earnest Revolutionary.

You say want a Coalition, well You know . . .

Here they come - from all over, by over there, near the tracks and the viaducts, where the streetcar turns the bend around.

THE REBELS: 47th Street and Ashland;63RD STREET IMPERIALS; 63rd STREET BEER CLUB;
V's: They hung around behind Gage Park High School.
69th STREET LOAFERS: Mostly Italian from 69th and Hermitage:DUKES OF HERMITAGE.
Hung around Hermitage Park and 59th and Hermitage:SAWYER BOYS: They hung at Sawyer school at 53rd and Sawyer;WHIPPLE STREET BOYS;ARTESIAN COBRAS: (a greaser gang who evolved from the 59 Street Supreme rulers, and most of whom were weightlifting fanatics) issued a statement concerning the call by Food Critic, Public Relations Maven and Later-day Kropotkin Don Rose to protest a planned reunion of septuagenarian and octogenarian Chicago Police Veterans in celebration of their Service and Protection of Chicago during the attempted coup by Cadillac Commie Cupcakes at the Democratic Convention:

From ABC Seven ( Andy Shaw Free Since 2008)-

June 23, 2009 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- A police watchdog group says it will march in protest of a planned reunion of Chicago officers who worked during the 1968 Democratic convention.
The Chicago convention was marked by protests and violence. The group Chicago Copwatch says the planned reunion celebrates police violence against demonstrators. They plan to march this Friday, June 26, - the same day of the scheduled Chicago riot police reunion. They also delivered a letter to the mayor's office asking him to condemn the reunion.
"These were unprovoked assaults by the police on several occasions in Grant Park, on Michigan Avenue," said Don Rose, activist.
"The Chicago Police Department, the City of Chicago, broke the laws they were obligated to uphold," said Patricia Hill, African American Police League.

Chicago Greaser and Street-corner Guy* Coalition Spokesguy Niti Capone, III had this to say, " These Fruits came around the park over by the viaduct on Ashland and tried to get Vinny, Me and the Three Parisi Brothers to come downtown and help them toss 7-Up bottles of Pee and Irish Confetti at the Bulls, but we done that already and there was 16" Ball-game at Sherman Park with Slinky Ryan from Wood Streets and those Micks what live south of the tracks, across from Our Lady A Mount Carmel and all go to Leo, but their sissies what go to Big Weed (Little Flower H.S.), like this skinny little turd name Hickey who goes to all our dances and ain't too much of a damn pest, because he's tight with Tony DiPolito and the Vasi Brothers. We go to Harper and Hubbard and Parker, but we go to Church and all.

So, this Fruit** in the Dickie and Tweed and Beatle Boots says that they gonna bring Revolution! We start yankin' his pud! Then he gets his panty-hose bloated and cracks wise and Larry with the three fingers from Murray Park gives him a crack because Larry's brother is in Vietnam fightin' the Chinese Reds.

The Fruit near pee'd his cords - wearin' cords in July - and cries, 'We're Your Brothers! Off The Pigs!' and Larry gives him another crack. Then the other Fruits in the Volkswagon, we all drive Chevies, and its gots these plastic wallpaper flowers for Peace, start bawling so we swarm them and take a tire iron to the hood, which is the trunk of those Fag Wagons. We're all frisky on Sneaky Pete's ( Tall Schlitz with Ripple Red poured in) and got the giggles over these Room 222 Fags. We toss our lit Luckies into the Hitler Bug and they all start cryin' like little bitches.

We crack the bunch of them and they're all cryin' about 'callin' the Cops' and We yell back -'Off The Pigs! Dude!' The Cops from Englewood always treated us Okay and Mr. Pape was a cop and his cousin ran the Little League. So we called a bunch of the guys that we used to bloody up in the parks and at the parties and Parish dances - the Polacks, Harps, Hunkies, Mex-es and Ricans - all great guys. I was in the Army for two years with a couple of Polack Gaylords from Back o' the Yards and two Psychos from Canaryville - lovely gents.

If you see that Mick runt Hickey, let him know that my cousin Emil ain't forgotten that he cut-in on a slow dance at VIZ with Trolly Manuppa and he still ain't real happy. You ain't that Hickey are you? Jesus, you was in shape what happened? Just kidding. No, really? Don't do pull-ups anymore?

Anyway, we called the old guys to come out and support the Old Cops. The Fruits are still fruits and hate America.

Yeah, we made some calls we'll be there to help the Old Time Coppers."

Click my post title for Chicago Stone Greasers - splendid historical record - no Kidding! The Photos for the south side gangs are the work of Chicago Historian and Photag Mr. Larry Raeder who grew up in the Sherman Park Hood. Mr. Rader has been an invaluable source of knowledge for Crime Biographer Rose Keefe and Historian Richard Lindberg.

* Greaser was an attitude - generally but not exclusively of Italian, Polish, Czech, Mexican. Puerto Rican ethnic origin
Street-Corner Guy was a person attuned to proximity to smokes, beer, Pop, eats, mischief - often Irish, Jewish, German, Belgian, and Swedish


** Fruit, Fag Sissy, Cupcake, Shirley & etc ( archaic - Pre -PC) - generally a person of whom one has slight regard and middling concern due to aura of Self-absorption, infidelity and poor or unacceptable habits of dress and coiffure.