I’m madder than a squeegee man who finally got his job back after 20 years of Republican rule only to find out that it still isn’t a good way to make a living over the fact that I just learned that all those titans of industry we revere and watch shows about on the History Channel were all a bunch of in-it-for-themselves no-goodnicks who ultimately only looked out for number one — and when I say number one I don’t mean me!
Look, you all know the ol’Screecher has been the voice of the working man for as long as any of us can remember, and that’s because I’ve been working all these years speaking the truth.
And the truth is that Carnegie Hall and Radio City Music Hall were only built to boost the egos of the egomaniacs who built them, those being one Andrew Carnegie and another John D. Rockefella.
Now, I know exactly what you are thinking: “Carmine, how the heck do you think you know what was in the minds of Carnegie and Rockefella when they built those things, and how do you know they didn’t have ‘practice, practice, practice’ and the Rockettes in mind?”
The answer is simple. I don’t!
But that doesn’t mean I’m not right when I say somehow this intense rivalry fostered fortunes in steals and kerosine. No, I didn’t misspell “steel,” because Andrew Carnegie’s fortune was based on the sweat and toil of his overworked, underpaid, mistreated employees who produced the steel that made Carnegie the world’s largest steel manufacturer, even if had to hire the Pinkertons army to kill some mill workers to do it.
I heard that while Andrew Carnegie was at his palatial estate in Scotland, he hired a colleague of his mentor Tom Scott, Henry Frick to do all the dirty work necessary to secure his fortune — and ensure it continued to grow. And the greedy son of a gun was a master at getting what he wanted no matter the cost, damage, or destruction he created in his egomaniacal pursuit. Don’t you think I’m exaggerating, he and his highfalutin breatheren caused the Johnstown Flood when they bought the dam and messed it up while they fished nearby!
Don’t think that Jonn D. was any kinder? He closed down one of his oil refineries, decimating the town, workers, and businesses that relied on the refinery. John D. never considered the human factoring, only dollars and cents and his insatiable ambition to control. Talk about wanting to be the king of the hill — that was John D. So the rivalry between Carnegie and John D. was more than just a mere game, it was a battle for each Titans’ survival.
I’m no Rockefella (in fact, I’m a Nickelfella), but I can tell you these guys — and others like J.P. Morgan Chase from “The Gong Show” and Henry Ford Mustang, and Thomas Con Edison — did more bad than good.
And speaking of games and tests, this test for Alzheimer’s just came in on the FreeMail from my old buddy Carmelo, see how you make out:
It takes less than 15 seconds:
How fast can you guess these words and fill-in the blanks?
1.RAN_ _ _; 2. _OR_; 3. _A_T_S; 4. _ UL_E ; 5. _I_; 6. _ _ _K_;
Answers:
1. RANDOM; 2. FORK; 3. PANTS; 4. PULSE; 5. SIX; 6. BOOKS
That’s the closest thing you’ll ever find to bad language in my column!
Now, here’s the latest plug for myself this week: Start spreading the news, my free ballroom and tango classes will start the first Wednesday of October, which is the latest it can be this year — the Oct. 7 — at the Federation of Italian-American Organization’s Beacon Community Center at Seth Low IS 96, at 99 Avenue P between W. 11th & W. 12th streets.
This will be my 18th year teaching ballroom dancing — and my first since turning 80 — for the Federation of Italian American Organizations of Brooklyn. Registration can be done at the front desk and only those registered can participate in the classes. For more information call Vanessa at (718) 232–2266 or the federation at (718) 259–2828.
Happy Holidays to all!
Screech at you next week!
