Preparation

“Only fifty cents for a soapbox? That does not sound like a sustainable business at all.”  Max asks the salesman, who sighs in return. They walk past the high stacks of boxes and the man points out the differences between the materials used before replying.

“They are not really in high demand, so asking anymore would keep the customers away. I’ve had better times, but it keeps me afloat these days. So you see anything of your liking?”

Max picked a smaller-sized box made of red cedar and payed the man a dollar. A late afternoon sun warmed his body as he set off in the direction of The Strip. Once he stepped up on the overturned box a gentlemen threw a cent in front of the box, but he turned agitated when Max didn’t deliver on the expected dance.

“Okay, so next time I might want to change outfits so people don’t take me for a clown right away.” Max mumbled to himself.
 

Delivering

The Strip was always buzzing with activity, so it didn’t take long before a small crowd gathered around Max, curious to what this act was all about.

“Ever since I started working for my boss Bunny, I’ve enjoyed getting acquainted with the different aspects of this life. Or at least those parts where I could freely venture into. The outlook of a satisfying income won from my civilian ethics. Pushing over that old lady and running off with her handbag felt strange the first time, but by now it became a routine that doesn’t really mean anything to me. The other day there were a lot hobo’s marching on the streets following their frontman Tyler Durden. All of a sudden everyone came running out of their houses and started beating them up. Again, awkward at first, but since everyone did it, I joined in. I hit a few real good, although my knuckles are still bruised from that day.”

At that point the crowd already thinned out. They came to Las Vegas for entertainment, but this turned into quite a long winding monologue. They sought entertainment, but found boredom.

“Besides the more physical parts of this life - which admittedly quickly become monotonous - I also wandered around the streets to get a taste of the social vibe. After a few weeks it leaves me wondering about how engaged and entertained everyone here really is.”

“In public we saw two men from Las Vegas engage each other on a personal matter. Does that hold entertainment value for us? Being witnesses to, or being involved with cases like this; does that make you feel you are in good company in this world?”

“Or not too long ago we heard from Godfather MonsterHair and Don Kharon on different topics, but fueled by a similar idea of being surprised that people blame a group or person for their negative experiences. They felt the need to address these topics, assumingly because they felt there exists a wrong perception on these matters. Whether that’s true or not, neither of these viewpoints triggered a lot of debate. Did these leaders get home late that night and smiled to themselves in the mirror thinking another problem was solved? Were they disappointed they couldn’t engage people with opposing views? And on the other hand we have these people, with their apparent different ideas. Why don’t they feel the motivation to discuss this when the chance is offered? Do they feel such debates are a chance or a risk? Do they actually care or is it just about having an opposing idea?”

“Or there is the very recent case of Don Orange aiming to publicly solve the puzzle of how to approach possible candidates to our organisations. At one hand it’s fantastic to see care about this matter. On the other hand it makes me wonder what, with all due respect, this pretty senior member of our society cared about previously that this surfaced only now. Are we invested enough today to truly solve this matter, or are we acknowledging it and stumbling over it again in a year?”

 

Satisfaction

“So, based on cases like these, I am curious as to how much care we truly have for this place. With all our combined intellect and cumulative time spent on this side of the law, are we happy about the way we identify and solve our communal problems? Do we enjoy how we interact with each other? I hope you all understand I’m not pointing to a specific issue or questioning a specific target-audience. From thug to Godfather, I am genuinely wondering: Is this really a satisfying and rewarding experience for you?"

The streets appealed to Tammy as an open forum, where anything could realistically be discussed. She enjoyed presenting ideas and opinions as much as she did approaching others who had, to offer support, encouragement and challenges.

Some appearances would take a little more time to consider before that approach was made. Those were often the best ones. She watched, modestly dressed and hair typically strung up from a bench nearby. After the gentleman had finished talking, she  stood to make her address.

"Welcome to tha' streets, Mr... Max?"

She offers a firm handshake and a smile.

"I must say, despite bein' made on a street corner on a generic city street, your words are almost deafenin'. Very loud statements from a young and upcomin' soldato such as yourself. It's good ta' see that the guts to challenge things still exists, though. 

"I notice you're callin' into question the recent annoucements made by some of our senoir members of tha' current regimes. I don't believe I'm in a place to answer those questions, however I would be very interested ta' know what the opinion is on these appearances. You are correct, they gathered little attention and perhaps do feel like stock speeches, made simply to feign a presence out here.

"I'd also look to consider that the annoucement from Chicago came very soon before they made an unprecedented and apparently surprise attack on elements of tha' West Coast. Are those two incidents linked

She steps back, looking for other potential speakers. 

"I don't agree however than Don Orange should be criticised for raisin' awareness on the approach to recruitment, an aspect of this life which I hold very close to my heart. Any attention paid to this process is deservin' of my time. I would perhaps question why the sponsors within the Don's operation, and others, have not brought tha' matter up already. We are a community of sorts, recruiters, I'd expect us all to experience the same anomalies in our processes.

"Anyway, this is all just idle comments to address the talking points you have made. The question you have posed, is this a satisfying experience?"

She looks over her shoulder again for other speakers, then looking back at Max.

"Personally? Well, we've yet to see, see if anyone else takes this opportunity to engage tha' points which have been raised."

It is quite difficult of a topic to bring up old sport. I think you raise a question that penetrates the deepness of each individuals personal thoughts and emotions that surround their current state of being in this life. If i understand you correctly your question is are people intrigued by the streets.

There are hardly any topics to bring up that have not already been raised in the past. This creates a sort of indifference to anyone who comes out to the streets. Everyone has read their parents journals who have in turn read their parents journals thus creating a world of uninterested expectation. People don't seem too interested to have the debates their grandfathers had and yet at the same time everyone has a distant fear of being criticized or murdered for expressing their thoughts in the streets. 

Well the question then old sport is what would bring the streets alive? What would separate us from the lives our former godfathers had and what are we looking for from our time spent here? The answer is simple: Opportunity. You see old sport the sole reason why so many of our lineage come back is to see if we can achieve something our ancestors could not; a chance to do something great. We all desire to stand out and when we know that everyone's fathers father has seen all that has been discussed so something new needs to stir up to continue to entice people. 

From interviews to competitions and even people sharing their stories about how they got where they are draw us ever deeper into this perpetual cycle in which we call the mafia. What brings us closer, what draws us nearer than anything else, more than the friends is the opportunity to be great. An old friend of mine, a man by the name of Mr. Dan Cody, once told me that if opportunity did not knock, i must build a door. 

So for me personally, I am unsure. I am not amused with criticisms and debates about who was right and who was wrong over certain situations. I don't care to hear about petty disputes i find that quite immature and unnecessary. I don't involve myself with the negative mindsets of others. What i care to see and learn is the chance for success. My perspective on the streets is not about what i can take but what i can give for others. That is what brings me the most satisfaction. To know that my words or my thoughts may help another to achieving their dream and reaching their 'green light' then and only then old sport, do i know i have found something worth meaning here.  

Disorder was out for his morning stroll through the streets when he noticed a lively discussion and paused to listen. Enjoying the stimulating cappuccino he waited for others to speak before joining in.

"Max you come here with a discussion that has been brought up before. Indeed you mention tired repetition of familiar subjects. Of course we are all familiar with that but I'd suggest another perspective. As someone who looks for people to stand out from the crowd and show themselves to have potential as future front runners in our society, I always look for someone who can see the mundane and repetitive and go beyond it. Sure, most subjects have been visited so many times the print has worn off but that's the challenge. That's where people with real potential can use their skill to find another way to say something or present a genuinely new idea for discussion. Even be clever and brave enough to broach a controversial subject in a manner that is respectful and commands responses.

If the most creative thing we can think to talk about is the lack of things to talk about, well... The future may struggle exciting leadership prospects."

An orange glow emerged out of the darkness like a candle lit inside a pumpkin. 

If we're talking about what we talk about, let me talk a little bit about the talking and the talking about. As someone who has talked about many things - almost anything you can think of, I've talked about - I might be the most qualified person in this entire street to talk about talking about things. Things - and let's not beat around the bush here - are what I talk about. Important things, not so important things, if we're talking about things, we're talking my language. Yuge opportunity here, so I'm going to spend a little bit of time breaking this down for you all. 

And hey, can I just say, what a great crowd. You people are just magnificent. This is what I talk about when I'm talking about bigly crowds. The bigliest. Fantastic, people. Just fantastic.

But hey, let's talk about things. Topics. People tell me I'm the best at topics. I don't know, personally, if that is true, but that's what people are telling me. What can I say? I can't tell them no. I can't tell them to go away. Am I supposed to stop these phone calls coming in, asking me, 'Donald, you're the topic guy - everybody knows that - can I get a topic, Donald? Can you help me out?'. How can I turn these folks down? These are my people!

Just like you. What a crowd, huh. My God. God bless America.

So, let's talk about why this is happening. How come we don't have any topics? Well, we're all out here talking. We can talk and talk and eventually we're going to come back to where we started. Believe me, I've seen it. You're here one day, and it's, 'tyrant this, tyrant that' and you're here the next day and it's, 'omerta this, omerta that', and you go to sleep for a year and come back and it's 'tyrant this, omerta that'. But you listen to me speak once, and it's amazing. A breath of fresh air. I'm a man who will tell you everything they don't want you to hear, believe me.

Just think about what I've talked about today. I've done it all. We've traveled the world in this speech and folks, I'll tell you what, it's a yuge world out there. But we're smart people, right? I get compliments about it all the time. About 35 years ago, a doctor measured my head and told me, 'Donald, you've got to have a brain the size of an elephants egg', and I said, 'Doc, believe me, this elephant egg of a brain knows what you're saying'. Sometimes I try to wrap my enormous hands around my head just to see if they'll touch and people, you know what? They don't. I can't touch my own fingers wrapped around my head. Talk about a brain, folks. I'm your guy. 

What a crowd, you've been fantastic. You're the beating heart of America, coal country. 

Confused, wide eyed and with a slight twitch, Tammy stammers. 

"...You take forever to say nothing."

I'm not a man who says nothing. I've spoken more words than possibly anyone ever. I'm a words-man. I say what I have to say. If there's something that needs saying, I'll be there to say it. If you've ever sat around, thinking about writing a letter to someone who will say all of the things you're too afraid to, I'm your recipient. Write me that letter. I get letters all the time. Add one to the pile. People write me - important people, some of the most important people who have ever lived - and they tell me, 'I've been to your speeches, Donald, you're like no speaker I've ever seen before in my life' and I'm not going to dispute that. Believe me, I'm not going to tell them any different. 

You're not getting any low-energy speeches from me. I'm here to bring the truth to the people. I'm here to give the people what they need.

A few people had responded to what Max had to say and the sun was already setting. He invited those who wanted to continue this conversation to tag along and join him for early evening drinks in the restaurant across the street.

“So far the effort to go out here today has been worth it for me personally. I’m not satisfied, but I’m motivated to further engage on this topic. I’m chasing the answer and in that challenging myself to communicate smarter as my initial words allowed for many deviations from the topic that I actually wanted to talk about - how rewarding is the experience on this side of the law for us?”

“I want to thank Godfather Disorder for coming out here and making remarks that I fully agree with. It’s good to see that a leading figure is on the lookout for talent and that he can appreciate it when people go beyond that what is expected to happen. But now the question that matters: Are you getting regularly satisfied in finding people that meet these criteria?”

“Leaving out the obvious respect and friendly ties, are you finding Dons, Wise Guys or Thugs that go beyond that what is so common? X marks the spot. Sure, we know what we want and we all want that treasure. But when we start digging, do we hit the gold or is it all sand and shelves which slips through our fingers before we turn home empty-handed?”

“I want to mention to Mr. Orange and Ms. Gato that at no point was I criticising the fact that we are discussing how possible recruits are approached. I think that fact is wonderful, even if the discussion has been had several times before. Now we had that discussion, my question remains: Are you satisfied with the outcome? Is there a consensus reached that we do A, B or C to address this issue. Was the goal to discuss or did we aim to solve?”

After having discreetly asked one of the waiters if this venue serves anything more strong than just water and coffee, Max continues.

“Please understand I don’t try to be negative tonight. In people I see a huge potential here, but because I’m only sparsely introduced to this way of life I have no insight whether that is reached. I am simply curious how you all perceive this complete experience and that is a question that wraps it all and thus goes beyond specific subjects as repetitive tasks, street activity and building relations.”

“From the point where each of you stand in this life and you look around you; are you truly satisfied with what is or do you hope for something else, something extra?”

“The answer to that question is at the origin of our behaviour. If we are already satisfied, we may grow fat and lazy with nothing to chase. But when we are not satisfied, we can actively pursue that what we desire. And my god, that must lead to a lot of intriguing talks and initiatives.”​​​​​​