Last time I started on how powerful and influential one's history could get. The physical analogy used is spring force. The main lesson is that compressed emotions and mistakes are powerful and potentially explosive so it's in one's own best interest to be wary of them. Consider the following examples.
David
was a king in ancient Israel for whom everything was going. One day he
spotted the beautiful wife of one of his soldiers, took her in, slept
with her and the pretty woman became pregnant. Didn't he use protection?
That's a very stupid question to ask because even if he did, his
actions would still not be justified. Even if he did use protection,
what should he expect when the woman told her husband? As soon as he
realised what he had done, his desire to save the king's face led him
into killing the woman's husband in desperation. I like the way Adeolu
Akinyemi told the story in a recent post of his.
King David would never imagine himself killing one of his finest
soldiers but he did it anyway. Just because he thought the explosion of
the spring was more than he could bear, he simply packed on more load.
Ultimately what happened was that he married that woman, lost the child
from that first pregnancy and most unfortunately, landed his children,
generations yet unborn, in trouble. It was said to him that, "Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house because you despised [God]...Before your very eyes [God] will take your wives and give them to one who is close to you, and he will lie with your wives in broad daylight." (emphasis mine). And you know what? "So a tent was put up on the roof for Absalom, and he slept with his father's [David's] concubines in plain sight of Israel.". And then came incest, hatred and obituaries: Amnon and Absalom and Adonijah. If only he did not load the spring further!!!
Most people do not know the story behind the man after whom the O'Hare International Airport, Chicago was renamed. The man Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare was the son of Edward Joseph O'Hare. Edward J. was a lawyer who worked closely with Al Capone before turning against Capone and helping convict him of tax evasion.
Most people do not know the story behind the man after whom the O'Hare International Airport, Chicago was renamed. The man Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare was the son of Edward Joseph O'Hare. Edward J. was a lawyer who worked closely with Al Capone before turning against Capone and helping convict him of tax evasion.
This
is how it happened. When Edward J. moved to Chicago in 1927 he started
working with Al Capone, a gangster who led a crime syndicate that was in
virtually in control of Chicago. They both collaborated in business and
law, Edward J. providing the legal expertise that supported the
syndicate. However, sometimes in 1930, apparently realising that he was
doing something wrong, O'Hare volunteered to start working undercover
for the authorities with the sole aim of bringing Capone to justice.
Slowly, discreetly and steadily, he started providing evidence to
investigators; and one of the investigators, Frank Wilson, actually
acknowledged his finesse openly, stating in a 1947 magazine issue, "On
the inside of the gang I had one of the best undercover men I have ever
known: Eddie O'Hare." The evidence provided by Edward J. during Capone's
tax evasion trial in 1931 and 1932 helped in proving Capone's guilt.
There is speculation that Edward J.'s actions were spurred by one or a combination of three reasons: to ensure that his son, Edawrd H. got into the Naval Academy, to set a good example, or to attempt to right his wrongs. Whatever reasons he had, his actions meant only one thing - gently easing the load on the spring. Eventually in 1939, he was shot dead but that didn't seem to matter much anymore because that same year, his son started flight training at the Naval Air Station Penascola in Florida. The son, Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare went on to become one of the finest airmen in the US Navy during and after World War II. So fine was he that only 9 years and 10 months after his father's death, the Orchard Depot Airport in Chicago was renamed after him. What would have happened if his father had not unloaded the spring? My guess is that Edward H. would probably never have gone to Naval Academy, eventually Al Capone's syndicate would have been busted and Edward J. would probably still be working there and he would also have been incriminated.
Compressed springs are powerful but not only in the negative sense. In the next post I'll discuss the positive side to compressed springs and the aspect of stretched springs.
There is speculation that Edward J.'s actions were spurred by one or a combination of three reasons: to ensure that his son, Edawrd H. got into the Naval Academy, to set a good example, or to attempt to right his wrongs. Whatever reasons he had, his actions meant only one thing - gently easing the load on the spring. Eventually in 1939, he was shot dead but that didn't seem to matter much anymore because that same year, his son started flight training at the Naval Air Station Penascola in Florida. The son, Edward Henry "Butch" O'Hare went on to become one of the finest airmen in the US Navy during and after World War II. So fine was he that only 9 years and 10 months after his father's death, the Orchard Depot Airport in Chicago was renamed after him. What would have happened if his father had not unloaded the spring? My guess is that Edward H. would probably never have gone to Naval Academy, eventually Al Capone's syndicate would have been busted and Edward J. would probably still be working there and he would also have been incriminated.
Compressed springs are powerful but not only in the negative sense. In the next post I'll discuss the positive side to compressed springs and the aspect of stretched springs.
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