"Bent Attorney Esq." > wrote in message
...
|I first ran into Chico in Edmonton in 1978. I lived in an apartment
| and do did he. Right across the hall. Never saw him until about 6
| months after I moved in. He had just come home from the hospital,
| having had heart surgery. I got to know him and listened to his tall
| tales. He told me (and friends) that he had just a couple of years
| before a beautiful Indian girlfriend. He told us that he owned a
| ranch in the Peace River region. He told us that he could fly an
| airplane. He told us that at his ranch, they kept a couple of wolves
| as pets. He told me that when he was younger he used to do
| enforcement jobs for the mob; i.e. breaking legs when the money didn't
| come in. We thought he was full of it. Then he showed us photos. A
| photo of him and this beautiful Indian girl. A photo of him with two
| wolves. A photo of him inside of a Cessna 172. So he was telling the
| truth. The man had a few stories to tell. He loved to cook.
| He was in the US Navy and was taken captive by the Japanese. While
| they were marching them to their destination, they tied their tongues
| together with the next man. Needless to say, their tongues were
| swollen big time.
| After the war, Chico was in the US Merchant Marine. When they went to
| England, they were piloted into port by an English fellow. The
| English didn't have much to eat at that time, and the American fellows
| gave the guy a good breakfast. After he was done, the English pilot
| said:
| "Our margarine's better than your butter."
| Chico took us to see 'Raging Bull'. I'm thankful that he did. He was
| a good fellow. I just heard he died last year (2008).

Wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing it.

pavane