I Wrote a Book!

[The Shadow]

I know : big deal & so what?

But : if you are into ghosts, gangsters, ghastly crimes & Chicago-area serial killers, I hope you will check it out. "Where the Tour Buses Don't Go" is available on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Tour-Bu...=UTF8&qid=&sr=

[hoosier]

Cool. And congrats!

[Anti-Polar Bear]

What’s the name of the song you composed that was featured in a Hollywood flick?

[Anti-Polar Bear]

What’s the name of the song you composed that was featured in a Hollywood flick?

Found answer via Google. I like the hook.

Hot dang, Shadow, I’m honestly envious. You’re a celebrity and an inspiration.

[The Shadow]

Thanks. I wish I actually had talent, tho.

[The Shadow]

The book is actually doing quite well - and thanks to everyone who checked it out on Amazon. If you rats are tired of the Cooped-Up-Way-Too-Long COVID Blues, I hope you will consider a little road trip south, where you can visit odd little sites without ever having to leave the safety of the car.

https://www.amazon.com/Where-Tour-Bu...=UTF8&qid=&sr=

[MadtownPacker]

So this whole time you are a writer? Sure you aren’t one of the long gone ghost?

[The Shadow]

https://www.forbes.com/sites/wendyal...h=7142d7363980

[hoosier]

[W]hat I love about it is how the story of each place is told in the friendly, funny voice of the author

This amazon reviewer has obviously been deceived, had the wool pulled over their eyes. I plan on writing a counter review documenting with ample PR evidence that the author is in fact an incurable curmudgeon.

[Tony Oday]

Bought the paperback, not my jam but I will have the wife read it. Should be here on 11/22

[The Shadow]

Bought the paperback, not my jam but I will have the wife read it. Should be here on 11/22

May you live for 1,000 years!

[The Shadow]

This amazon reviewer has obviously been deceived, had the wool pulled over their eyes. I plan on writing a counter review documenting with ample PR evidence that the author is in fact an incurable curmudgeon.

Only those here know the real me.

[HarveyWallbangers]

Awesome! Congrats!

[The Shadow]

Bought the paperback, not my jam but I will have the wife read it. Should be here on 11/22

Did your wife like it? It's ok to lie.

[hoosier]

A real man never asks a woman if she enjoyed it . . . .

[The Shadow]

For all you Jake Kumerow fans out there: here's a bit on his grandfather from my book.

1. Tony Accardo : The Real Godfather
Al Capone? Al CaPONE? Fuggetabotim! How about the man it was said “had more brains before breakfast than Al Capone had all day?”
Tony Accardo was a far more erudite leader of the Outfit, a true Chicago Godfather. He ruled the roost full-time from 1943 to 1957, and would continue to serve as kind of ‘chairman’ probably right up until his death. No matter who was thought by the authorities to be in charge of the Outfit, it was always Tony Accardo actually pulling the strings behind the scene. Virtually no major decisions could be made without clearing it with him. Not only did he exert a major influence on politics, business, vice and - well – everything in town, he operated in true old-school Mafiosi fashion, always under the radar, skillfully exerting his vast powers behind the scenes, and avoiding calling attention to himself whenever possible. In other words, the virtual antithesis of the showy Scarface Al.
How successful was this approach? Under his leadership, the Outfit grew into an even more wildly profitable organization, extending its insidious tentacles beyond the usual illegal activities into legitimate businesses as well. And Accardo, unlike virtually every other high-profile Mafia boss, never spent a night in jail, and wound up dying of natural causes in 1992. Pretty impressive.
I’ve always admired Tony’s two most famous nicknames, which were kind of cool even for mobster nicknames. It was said that it was Capone himself, who Accardo had begun assisting in the 20’s, assigned him the charming moniker “Joe Batters”, allegedly for his prowess with a baseball bat (a very useful skill to have on your gangster resume). A point of interest here : in 1929, Albert Anselmi & John Scalise, two Capone gunmen suspected by Capone of plotting against him, were lured to what was supposedly a dinner in their honor. Their after-dinner reward? It is said that they were bludgeoned to death with a Louisville Slugger (and shot, too) before being ignominiously dumped by a roadside in Hammond, Indiana. I’ve always wondered if this was Accardo’s tryout audition for the Outfit big leagues.
Tony’s other notable nickname was “Big Tuna”. This one doesn’t have as interesting of a backstory (it supposedly memorialized a very large fish he caught in Florida), but it still has kind of a cool ring. Imagine the conversation in some murky South Wabash dive : Voice 1: “Let’s just whack that guy! I gotta get rid o dat stone in my shoe!” Voice 2: “Hold on dere, buddy boy – you know we can’t do dat widout checking it out first with the Big Tuna”.
Accardo, even later in life and for all of his cautious restraint, could however be provoked back into displaying the rage and vindictiveness that marked his early career. On January 6th, 1978, several disgruntled thieves made the astoundingly ill thought out decision to burgle his River Forest home. I still marvel at how bone-headed it would be to pick – of all possible places - the home of the Outfit’s boss to rob. Sometimes, all you can do is shake your head.
Accardo, on vacation at the time, was notified. He flew home immediately.
Within nine days of the burglary, the heads began to roll. Before long, ten people suspected of being in on the heist were found murdered in gruesome fashion all over Chicago. Even the Accardo butler (I guess no one was above suspicion) vanished, never to be seen again.
Some kind of Godfather! Some kind of Big Tuna!

Notable Tony Accardo Sites :
Tony’s First House :
915 Franklin Avenue, River Forest, IL 60305
This is a real palace; exactly the kind of mansion you would have if you were a Mob boss. Big, huge, gigantic. Twenty-two rooms. Nine bedrooms, plus an indoor swimming pool and bowling alley. Accardo lived here from 1951 to 1963, until his better instincts kicked in, probably realizing that the uber-ostentatious home was the equivalent of waving a red flag in the faces of the IRS bulls. After all, how could a guy claiming to be a beer salesman afford the Taj Mahal?



Tony’s Second House :
1407 Ashland Avenue, River Forest IL 60305
This ranch home, not far from his first one, is a lot more modest. A lot. In fact, this house is pretty much like one you might expect a moderately successful beer salesman to own.
This is the home that was robbed by the nutballs.

Meo’s Norwood House : The Big Tuna’s Restaurant of Choice
4750 N. Harlem Avenue, Harwood Hts, Il 60706
Accardo frequently dined with his shady associates at this Harwood Heights
Restaurant,t then known as Meo’s Norwood House. It was famous for staging
‘fashion/lingerie shows’ for the local Good Fellas. Countless mob business decisions
were decided here, as well as the fates of many wiseguys.
It later changed hands, becoming the Old Warsaw Inn, and became much more of a family-oriented place (I guess they had to give up on those lingerie shows).

Note: As of now (August, 2019), it’s changing again; the Old Warsaw has closed its doors. What the new incarnation will be is uncertain.