*Gammy walks out on to the streets. Holding a large box filled with paper. He begins to hand them out saying*

There has been some tension on the streets. a serious debate has been sparked. Mafiosos prides have been hurt, name have slandered, people insulted. I think maybe we should look back upon words of wisdom, wisdom that has been around since the beginning of our way of life. Please read these words and think on them. These words our not my own, but I believe in them.

*Gammy lights a cigarette and continues to hand out the sheets.*

Stone in my shoe

A little while back, I found myself involved in a small imbroglio. I had a stone in my shoe, so to speak, that I could not remove myself. What do I mean? Shut up and listen for a few seconds and you'll find out soon enough.

Now, I can't tell you what the stone was, so you'll have to trust me on this one. What is relevant is who helped me solve my little problem. The answer: my right-hand man. What? Who were you expecting -- the Easter Bunny?

My right-hand man

What exactly is a right-hand man?

As far as I know, the idea of having a right-hand man has been around since the beginning of time. Those of you out there with more than three active brain cells have probably already guessed that my problem was someone owing me money, and that my right-hand man took care of collecting the dues.

How he went about getting the capital is besides the point. The bottom line is that I needed someone I could trust to take care of the job. Lucky for me, my right-hand man is a very capable, loyal and trustworthy old friend.

Why couldn't I just take care of the job myself, you ask? I just couldn't be directly involved with the situation, and that is all you need to know.

God's man

The thing to remember here is that if it wasn't for my right-hand man, I would not have been able to recover those funds on time. Eventually, yes, but probably not when I needed them. This begets the following questions: What purpose does a right-hand man serve? And what makes a good right-hand man? If you don't see the need for one, it's probably because you have no power, likely never will, and will spend your life brown nosing others to avoid being stepped on too hard.

Even Almighty God had a right-hand man; his own son. If you can't trust your own son, who can you trust? This also demonstrates the importance of family and good friends.

The purpose

The right-hand man's main purpose is to watch your back because the world is a complicated place, and it gets a little more complicated every day. There are only so many things a man can take care of at any given time. No one has eyes behind his head, and your right-hand man is the eyes behind your head. He's there to make sure you don't get blindsided, ripped-off or hurt in any way.

He's the person you can trust with your life. The person you would want to take care of your family if you had to take an extended vacation or, God forbid, something bad should happen to you. When you need something done that requires the ultimate man of respect, he's your guy. In a nutshell, this is the purpose of the right-hand man.

The good hand

Now that you know what a right-hand man does, let me tell you what qualities to expect when interviewing for one. Most important is loyalty. Your right-hand man should take a bullet for you without thinking twice about it (because if he does think about it, you'll end up dead anyway). He should jump out of bed at 3 a.m. and come to your aid, no questions asked. He needs to understand the law of silence, and must never break it under any circumstance.

So your man is loyal; what else? Another important thing is the ability to execute. Not necessarily in the literal sense of the word you babbo , what I mean is the ability to get things done. If you need something done and your right-hand man can't execute, he's useless, no matter how loyal and trustworthy he is.

Furthermore, it always helps if that person owes you a favor. The bigger the favor, the better the man. If you save a man's life, you can bet your bottom dollar that he'll go to the mat for you in a flash.

Oh, one last thing: It helps if your right-hand man is bigger than a refrigerator and looks more intimidating than Mike Tyson at a beauty pageant. Get my point?

right-hand business

You don't have to be Don Corleone to have an right-hand man, most CEOs and executives have one. Their job includes keeping the boss informed of what's going on around him, taking care of the details and tying up loose ends. Also, they will usually have to do their share of the dirty work; they will take care of the matters the boss doesn't have time to tend to, but that no one else is trusted with. Very important stuff my friends, very important.

The corporate right-hand man is the one that acts as a buffer between the boss and everyone else (in addition to the boss' secretary). If a round of layoffs or losses needs to be announced, it's the right-hand man that will most likely get his hands dirty. However, when profits are announced, you'll see the big man himself make the announcement.

There you have it, boys. If you aspire to power, make sure you have a solid right-hand man. Someone who is loyal, someone you can trust and, just as importantly, someone who can get the job done -- no questions asked.

Well said!!!