He says he's not dead.

[DrDemento]

Re: He says he's not dead.

When I was working in Houston, some quack, who had evidently been to a weekend liposuction seminar in Vegas, put up some billboards and waited for the suckers. Sure enough, two ladies (who had not consulted with their PCP's) wound up dead. Because this idiot couldn't maintain a sterile field. They surely didn't deserve to die. But if they'd consulted with their PCP's the docs would have told 'em they didn't need the procedure and recommended diet and exercise. If they persisted, the docs surely would have recommended someone board certified and not a guy with billboards and ads in the yellow pages. IIRC, he went to prison, where he surely belonged.

As to those A-listers, I'm guessing it was ethics that kept you from writing a tell all book!

Strongly believe in confidentiality. I have been privy to lots of personal secrets. I release no information about anyone to anyone without a written release allowing me to do so. Jenny has fought with the State of NJ many times about this. Some arse in Trenton will call my office and demand statistics or information about patients-she first politely tells them that we release nothing without a written statement from the patient allowing us to do so. often, the State just demands the data and quotes some obscure law that allows them access to it-that is when Jen puts her back up and tells them to simply go to he11.
As far as a tell all book-we have lots of fond memories of treating the famous and the nearly famous. Having been consultant to a number of modeling agencies has also added some choice tidbits. But any and all medical information was always safe with us. I am sure this is not always the case for other medical personal but we do not kiss and tell. Since we no longer have the active office-and only participate in some specialized consulting work-we are in the process of destroying all records older than 7 years ago. We have currently shredded about 48,000 patient charts along with biopsy reports, pictures, consultation reports, lab reports, and correspondence. In spite of that-we still have a garage full still stored and will attend to those soon.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Strongly believe in confidentiality. I have been privy to lots of personal secrets. I release no information about anyone to anyone without a written release allowing me to do so. Jenny has fought with the State of NJ many times about this. Some arse in Trenton will call my office and demand statistics or information about patients-she first politely tells them that we release nothing without a written statement from the patient allowing us to do so. often, the State just demands the data and quotes some obscure law that allows them access to it-that is when Jen puts her back up and tells them to simply go to he11.
As far as a tell all book-we have lots of fond memories of treating the famous and the nearly famous. Having been consultant to a number of modeling agencies has also added some choice tidbits. But any and all medical information was always safe with us. I am sure this is not always the case for other medical personal but we do not kiss and tell. Since we no longer have the active office-and only participate in some specialized consulting work-we are in the process of destroying all records older than 7 years ago. We have currently shredded about 48,000 patient charts along with biopsy reports, pictures, consultation reports, lab reports, and correspondence. In spite of that-we still have a garage full still stored and will attend to those soon.

I remember my father going through that as he wound down his practice. I'm sure he had some minor Chicago type celebrities as patients, but chest cutters don't generally attract that type of crowd. Over the years, he did have a few gangster patients. Including a guy known as "Needle Nose" Labriola (I swear) who wound up dead in the trunk of his car. Outfit guys in Chicago call that "trunk music."

One high ranking mob boss was a patient. He had a cancerous lung. And made it clear that they weren't interested in turning the old man into a "mob" doctor. Consultation, surgery, post-op. Lots of visits. And he wound up developing a relationship with the guy. They even had to move the visits to a different location because Chicago task force cops picked this guy up every time he showed up in the Loop.

On one visit the old man mentioned that the daughter of a friend of his, who was living in Old Town, and was a student at the Art Institute, was being followed by some guy (what we would today call stalking). He was outside of her apartment every morning and every afternoon when she returned. She was afraid if she called the cops they'd roust the guy then leave. And he'd be so pizzed off he'd rape or kill her.

This guy says to my father "give me that girl's address and we'll take care of that guy." The old man's eyes got big as saucers. The gangster laughed. "Oh, we won't kill him (chuckle) we'll break his legs, but we won't kill him. We don't like it when girls from good families are threatened" Think back to the scene in the first Godfather movie where the guy asks for help for his daughter who'd been treated badly by some college punks. Vito Corleone tells Tom Hagen to tell Clemenza to handle it. To put good men on it so the college guys don't wind up dead.

This guy then tells the old man that he's been treated with respect. And produces a business card for a restaurant on the near north side. And says, "If you ever need my help, give me a call." Let that sink in for a moment. He was not offering to fix a parking ticket. The conversation would be something like: "whatever happened to that guy who's been beefing with Dr. Pio? He went out for some smokes and hasn't been seen since." This guy was as serious as a heart attack. For many years Paul Harvey used to sign off his newscasts by noting how many gangland killings there had been in Chicago that day.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I remember my father going through that as he wound down his practice. I'm sure he had some minor Chicago type celebrities as patients, but chest cutters don't generally attract that type of crowd. Over the years, he did have a few gangster patients. Including a guy known as "Needle Nose" Labriola (I swear) who wound up dead in the trunk of his car. Outfit guys in Chicago call that "trunk music."

One high ranking mob boss was a patient. He had a cancerous lung. And made it clear that they weren't interested in turning the old man into a "mob" doctor. Consultation, surgery, post-op. Lots of visits. And he wound up developing a relationship with the guy. They even had to move the visits to a different location because Chicago task force cops picked this guy up every time he showed up in the Loop.

On one visit the old man mentioned that the daughter of a friend of his, who was living in Old Town, and was a student at the Art Institute, was being followed by some guy (what we would today call stalking). He was outside of her apartment every morning and every afternoon when she returned. She was afraid if she called the cops they'd roust the guy then leave. And he'd be so pizzed off he'd rape or kill her.

This guy says to my father "give me that girl's address and we'll take care of that guy." The old man's eyes got big as saucers. The gangster laughed. "Oh, we won't kill him (chuckle) we'll break his legs, but we won't kill him. We don't like it when girls from good families are threatened" Think back to the scene in the first Godfather movie where the guy asks for help for his daughter who'd been treated badly by some college punks. Vito Corleone tells Tom Hagen to tell Clemenza to handle it. To put good men on it so the college guys don't wind up dead.

This guy then tells the old man that he's been treated with respect. And produces a business card for a restaurant on the near north side. And says, "If you ever need my help, give me a call." Let that sink in for a moment. He was not offering to fix a parking ticket. The conversation would be something like: "whatever happened to that guy who's been beefing with Dr. Pio? He went out for some smokes and hasn't been seen since." This guy was as serious as a heart attack. For many years Paul Harvey used to sign off his newscasts by noting how many gangland killings there had been in Chicago that day.

Love reading these kinds of stories.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Love reading these kinds of stories.

Thanks. This one has the advantage of being completely true. Although I could understand some folks thinking it's just too good to be true. I have a couple of Tony Accardo stories I'll pass along sooner or later.

This was Tony's house. Indoor pool, bowling alley, English pub that seated 50 and a bath tub with gold fixtures made of a solid block of onyx, hauled up the stairs then carved out.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chicagogeek/4670336341/

 

[Kepler]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Falling bear.

 

[Hammer]

Re: He says he's not dead.

George Lindsey - Goober Pyle

 

[DrDemento]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I remember my father going through that as he wound down his practice. I'm sure he had some minor Chicago type celebrities as patients, but chest cutters don't generally attract that type of crowd. Over the years, he did have a few gangster patients. Including a guy known as "Needle Nose" Labriola (I swear) who wound up dead in the trunk of his car. Outfit guys in Chicago call that "trunk music."

One high ranking mob boss was a patient. He had a cancerous lung. And made it clear that they weren't interested in turning the old man into a "mob" doctor. Consultation, surgery, post-op. Lots of visits. And he wound up developing a relationship with the guy. They even had to move the visits to a different location because Chicago task force cops picked this guy up every time he showed up in the Loop.

On one visit the old man mentioned that the daughter of a friend of his, who was living in Old Town, and was a student at the Art Institute, was being followed by some guy (what we would today call stalking). He was outside of her apartment every morning and every afternoon when she returned. She was afraid if she called the cops they'd roust the guy then leave. And he'd be so pizzed off he'd rape or kill her.

This guy says to my father "give me that girl's address and we'll take care of that guy." The old man's eyes got big as saucers. The gangster laughed. "Oh, we won't kill him (chuckle) we'll break his legs, but we won't kill him. We don't like it when girls from good families are threatened" Think back to the scene in the first Godfather movie where the guy asks for help for his daughter who'd been treated badly by some college punks. Vito Corleone tells Tom Hagen to tell Clemenza to handle it. To put good men on it so the college guys don't wind up dead.

This guy then tells the old man that he's been treated with respect. And produces a business card for a restaurant on the near north side. And says, "If you ever need my help, give me a call." Let that sink in for a moment. He was not offering to fix a parking ticket. The conversation would be something like: "whatever happened to that guy who's been beefing with Dr. Pio? He went out for some smokes and hasn't been seen since." This guy was as serious as a heart attack. For many years Paul Harvey used to sign off his newscasts by noting how many gangland killings there had been in Chicago that day.

I don't have many of these stories but Jenny sure does. She comes from a very well connected family from North Jersey. Back in the early 1980's I went to a wedding with her-some uncle made the wedding for his adopted daughter-met many of her relatives. I had seen lots of them in the news before but never thought i would meet them in person. Most had nicknames with 'The' as their middle name (Tony The Hook, etc).

 

[REDaero91]

Re: He says he's not dead.

George Lindsey - Goober Pyle

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

George Lindsey - Goober Pyle

Aww

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I don't have many of these stories but Jenny sure does. She comes from a very well connected family from North Jersey. Back in the early 1980's I went to a wedding with her-some uncle made the wedding for his adopted daughter-met many of her relatives. I had seen lots of them in the news before but never thought i would meet them in person. Most had nicknames with 'The' as their middle name (Tony The Hook, etc).

Collectively those guys aren't exactly what you'd call deep thinkers. But they surely have a way with nicknames.

One of Sinatra's good buddies was Jimmy" the Weasel" Frattiane.

 

[rufus]

Re: He says he's not dead.

George Lindsey - Goober Pyle

Sur-prise sur-prise sur-prise.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Collectively those guys aren't exactly what you'd call deep thinkers. But they surely have a way with nicknames.

One of Sinatra's good buddies was Jimmy" the Weasel" Frattiane.

I was quite unfamiliar with their entire way of doing things. Jenny, of course having been raised with it, knew much more. Many of her family members had asked me for little favors(mostly medical advice). Jenny had warneed me well in advance that it was OK for me to do favors for them but NEVER ask or let them do anything as a favor for me. You just do not want to be in a position where you owe anything.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I was quite unfamiliar with their entire way of doing things. Jenny, of course having been raised with it, knew much more. Many of her family members had asked me for little favors(mostly medical advice). Jenny had warneed me well in advance that it was OK for me to do favors for them but NEVER ask or let them do anything as a favor for me. You just do not want to be in a position where you owe anything.

The only way the old man was going to take up that guy on his offer is if somebody killed his wife or one of his kids and then got off on a technicality. THEN he would have placed the call.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

A sad anniversary. 75 years ago today the Zeppelin Hindenburg (LZ 129) burst into flame as it was attempting to land at Lakehurst, New Jersey. 35 of the 97 people on board (mostly crewmen) lost their lives. The incident effectively ended passenger travel by dirigibles. The Germans were forced to use hydrogen as their lifting medium, since they didn't have any helium. Even though helium is less efficient, it has the advantage of being non-inflamable. The United States embargoed the sale of helium to Germany, in part because of "concerns" that this nearly 900 foot long object would somehow be used militarily, like Zeppelins had been in WWI. More likely, it was wounded national pride. Of America's four dirigibles (Akron, Macon, Shenandoah and California) three crashed in bad weather with loss of life. America's dirigibles had fatal design flaws. Only the California avoided a catastrophic end, and it was actually a Zeppelin, designed and built in Germany. Even so, clever Dr. Eckener, who designed the Hindenburg, made her compatible with helium, building in enough interior space to accomodate the stuff if they could ever get it.

No one knows for sure what caused the fire. Michael Mooney's book (and a previous volume) named a crewman by the name of Eric Spehl as having blown the ship up. The Mooney book was the basis for the film starring George C. Scott. Spehl is a good choice, since he died in the explosion and couldn't defend himself. He survived for a short time and from his hospital bed said: "Tell them I live." Then died.

Spehl was in his early 20's, a kid from rural Bavaria. And the conspiracy theorists suggest his older, politically and sexually active girl friend somehow induced him to blow up the pride of Germany. Evidently she showed up at the Zeppelin Co. offices demanding payment on his insurance policy, even before he'd been confirmed as dead. That makes her not a nice person, but not necessarily a conspirator.

In fact, there isn't a shred of convincing evidence: documentary, testimonial or scientific linking the explosion to a bomb, let alone to Eric Spehl. Let's just say the cause of the explosion is still an open question. But what the h*ll, let's smear this kid anyway, he's dead and can't sue. Max Pruss who was captain (and survived) was convinced it was sabotage. Dr Eckener thought otherwise.

When the film was released the producers made Herb Morrison available to radio stations around the country. Morrison was there, working for WLS in Chicago, and provided the horrified description of what he was seeing to a stunned world (he was on tape, not live, and the tapes were played later). "Oh, the humanity." Anyway, I jumped at the chance to interview a true legend. He told me the biggest misconception about his role in the accident was that he "had gone crazy," as a result. His commentary was very dramatic and emotional, no doubt. But he told me he was back at work at WLS the next day.

I have always thought what a great way to travel Zeppelins must have been. No vibration. No turbulence. No announcements suggesting passengers get back in their seats and buckle their belts. Cruising along at around 80 miles an hour with virtually no sensation of motion. Meals served by waiters. On tables with white linen. A smoking room. Showers. Private cabins for passengers. An airborne post office where mail was post marked "in the air." No matter how fancy the airplane is, if you have to drop down a tray table to eat, it's like being on a bus.

Today the experience would be much better. An airship would be made of titanium, welded not riveted, powered by low yield, variable thrust jet engines. Much faster than the old days. And no hydrogen. Equipped with radar, GPS, radio, internet, TV, sat phones and so forth. They would surely have a big bar, casino and duty free shop on board.

Would there be a market for that kind of service? Maybe. Cruising, after all, is big business. Could it make money? Maybe. I'd surely like to book passage.

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: He says he's not dead.

A sad anniversary. 75 years ago today the Zeppelin Hindenburg (LZ 129) burst into flame as it was attempting to land at Lakehurst, New Jersey. 35 of the 97 people on board (mostly crewmen) lost their lives. The incident effectively ended passenger travel by dirigibles. The Germans were forced to use hydrogen as their lifting medium, since they didn't have any helium. Even though helium is less efficient, it has the advantage of being non-inflamable. The United States embargoed the sale of helium to Germany, in part because of "concerns" that this nearly 900 foot long object would somehow be used militarily, like Zeppelins had been in WWI. More likely, it was wounded national pride. Of America's four dirigibles (Akron, Macon, Shenandoah and California) three crashed in bad weather with loss of life. America's dirigibles had fatal design flaws. Only the California avoided a catastrophic end, and it was actually a Zeppelin, designed and built in Germany. Even so, clever Dr. Eckener, who designed the Hindenburg, made her compatible with helium, building in enough interior space to accomodate the stuff if they could ever get it.

No one knows for sure what caused the fire. Michael Mooney's book (and a previous volume) named a crewman by the name of Eric Spehl as having blown the ship up. The Mooney book was the basis for the film starring George C. Scott. Spehl is a good choice, since he died in the explosion and couldn't defend himself. He survived for a short time and from his hospital bed said: "Tell them I live." Then died.

Spehl was in his early 20's, a kid from rural Bavaria. And the conspiracy theorists suggest his older, politically and sexually active girl friend somehow induced him to blow up the pride of Germany. Evidently she showed up at the Zeppelin Co. offices demanding payment on his insurance policy, even before he'd been confirmed as dead. That makes her not a nice person, but not necessarily a conspirator.

In fact, there isn't a shred of convincing evidence: documentary, testimonial or scientific linking the explosion to a bomb, let alone to Eric Spehl. Let's just say the cause of the explosion is still an open question. But what the h*ll, let's smear this kid anyway, he's dead and can't sue. Max Pruss who was captain (and survived) was convinced it was sabotage. Dr Eckener thought otherwise.

When the film was released the producers made Herb Morrison available to radio stations around the country. Morrison was there, working for WLS in Chicago, and provided the horrified description of what he was seeing to a stunned world (he was on tape, not live, and the tapes were played later). "Oh, the humanity." Anyway, I jumped at the chance to interview a true legend. He told me the biggest misconception about his role in the accident was that he "had gone crazy," as a result. His commentary was very dramatic and emotional, no doubt. But he told me he was back at work at WLS the next day.

I have always thought what a great way to travel Zeppelins must have been. No vibration. No turbulence. No announcements suggesting passengers get back in their seats and buckle their belts. Cruising along at around 80 miles an hour with virtually no sensation of motion. Meals served by waiters. On tables with white linen. A smoking room. Showers. Private cabins for passengers. An airborne post office where mail was post marked "in the air." No matter how fancy the airplane is, if you have to drop down a tray table to eat, it's like being on a bus.

Today the experience would be much better. An airship would be made of titanium, welded not riveted, powered by low yield, variable thrust jet engines. Much faster than the old days. And no hydrogen. Equipped with radar, GPS, radio, internet, TV and so forth. They would surely have a big bar, casino and duty free shop on board.

Would there be a market for that kind of service? Maybe. Cruising, after all, is big business. Could it make money? Maybe. I'd surely like to book passage.

Well, it would seem a lot less like the being crammed into a sardine can than what it is now with Airplane travel.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Well, it would seem a lot less like the being crammed into a sardine can than what it is now with Airplane travel.

Exactly. How about cruising over the Grand Canyon, having a beer and steak sandwich? Or touring any great city anywhere by air?

Not only were the Zeppelins in regular service between Germany and America. They also had regular runs to Rio.

 

[bigmrg74]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Exactly. How about cruising over the Grand Canyon, having a beer and steak sandwich? Or touring any great city anywhere by air?

Not only were the Zeppelins in regular service between Germany and America. They also had regular runs to Rio.

That would be one heck of a way to go see the Canyon. a lot of the rafting and backpacking outfits hate the helicopter tours of the place because they're so dang noisy. Would have to think that one of those big honkers would be a heck of a lot quieter, and let you take better pictures as well from it.

 

[Old Pio]

Re: He says he's not dead.

That would be one heck of a way to go see the Canyon. a lot of the rafting and backpacking outfits hate the helicopter tours of the place because they're so dang noisy. Would have to think that one of those big honkers would be a heck of a lot quieter, and let you take better pictures as well from it.

Zero vibration. And certainly a better beverage and food selection than on a chopper. Plus, you could get up and walk around to get a better angle. Or visit the loo. Zeppelins were concerned about weather. And when they saw that they were heading toward thunderstorms or other violent phenomena, they'd just steer around them. Now, of course, they'd have the advantage of radar, NOAA satellites, et al to plot the course.

 

[dxmnkd316]

Re: He says he's not dead.

I'm with you guys. Wonder what a ticket would cost for something like that today. It would probably rival the Condcorde at its peak.

 

[DrDemento]

Re: He says he's not dead.

Exactly. How about cruising over the Grand Canyon, having a beer and steak sandwich? Or touring any great city anywhere by air?

Not only were the Zeppelins in regular service between Germany and America. They also had regular runs to Rio.

And Jenny and I could join the 2000 foot high club!