"I was thinking",  Don Meanie says, "oh the how the years have flown by since moving to Jersey".  Don Meanie's mother moved Angela, his older sister and him from New York to South Jersey when he was 10 years old.  She said the city was too rough a place to raise kids. (Little did she know.)  Angela Graduated from Woodbury High School, went on to Princeton and became a great lawyer.  She moved to LA right out of college and shortly after, their mother went to live with her.

Don Meanie had a lot of good things going on in Jersey and Woodbury was like a hub for him.  He could be in Atlantic City in an hour, Philly in twenty minutes and in New York in about an hour and a half.  From where he sat, this was the place to be.  Life was good.  "So now I'm Don Meanie and to call me otherwise would be disrespectful.  Yea, my old friends still call me Fins in private but they also have the smarts to call me Don Meanie when they are working for me.  A better gang of mugs,  I couldn't ask for.  When I need a break from the club, me and some of my mugs go to a place called Ponzio's up route 130 from Westville. 

We was there one night when I looked up from my Veal Picante and who's being seated two tables down but Silver, Goldies' twin brother!  Remember I told him to go away and never come back?  Goldie wanted him sent to the Bean Counter.  Now he shows up here like nothing ever happened!"  After Don Meanie got over the suprise, he says to Chubby, "go tell that ratchit-fratchit I want to see him".  So Chubby walks up to Silver and quietly says, "Don Meanie requests you meet with him at his table".  Silver tells Chubby, "I don't know no Don Meanie and I don't know you so I suggest you get outta my face before I kick the fur right off your blue butt!"  Don Meanie, enraged, hollers to Silver, "you no good ratchit-fratchit, I saved you from BC and this is the thanks I get?!?"

 Silver stood up and spun around so fast he almost twisted his legs in a knot. " Who do you think you............" He stopped short when he saw Don Meanie.  "F...Fins, you're looking good. L...Long time no see."  Silver said, trying to calm Don Meanie's anger.  Speaking quietly, Don Meanie tells Silver to sit at his table.  "What are you doing back here?"  The Don says.  "Didn't we have an agreement?  You were not to come back here."  Silver was pretty nervous by now.  He was fumbling for words.  "I...I had a prob...lem in Vegas.  This mug outta Chi...Chicago was into something he tried to keep from the "family."  The boss himself came in, took him out.  I was given a chance to get out of town.  I heard about Goldie and figured it might be safe to come back." 

Don Meanie sat silent for a few minutes absorbing what he had just heard.  "I'll see if I can clear you with the Chicago Boss."  He took a fork full of veal and enjoyed the flavor, looked Silver straight in the eye and said,  "this is what you will do for me.  You will address me as Don Meanie from now on.  A time will come when I will ask you to do something for me.  You will do what I ask without question.  Do you understand?"  Silver breathed a sigh of relief.  "I understand Don Meanie.  Thank you for your kindness."  Don Meanie, calm now, calls the waiter and says.  "This mug will be joining me for dinner.  Be sure to save us some of that Strawberry Shortcake."  The waiter responded, "not a problem sir, I'll take care of it."

A few weeks later, Finny's was busy as usual when three mugs walk in.  You could tell when bears from Chicago came to town.  I don't know why but they always wore their colors and if they weren't wearing fedoras, those big heart tags shown like big stop signs.  Although they had a disarming look about them, anyone with a connection to "La Cosa Dei Meanies" knew they could be very persuasive. 

Anyway, these mugs walked into the club as if they owned the place, looking for Don Meanie.  Splat was behind the bar. He buzzed the intercom to Don Meanie's office.  The Don picked up the phone.  "What's up Splat?"  "Don Meanie, we have comp..."  Splat's voice went quiet.  Chubby was with the Don.  Don Meanie says to him.  "Something's wrong out front. Splat started to say something about company but was cut short.  I think we have a problem."  Chubby says,  "I'll check it out." 

Out at the bar, Splat is pinned down by one of the bears.  Harpoon comes out of the bathroom and the other two bears whack him about the head until he hits the floor and blacks out.  Chubby looked through the curtain to size up the situation.  He saw two mugs he meet a few years ago while out west.  One went by the name Valentino, he couldn't remember the other bears' name.  Chubby walks out like he was just another patron right up to Valentino.  "I haven't seen you mugs in a long time. What's up with you?"  Before he could answer, Chubby had him down and was going through the other bears like a knife through butter.  Within seconds, all three bears were down. Harpoon had come around by then.  He and Chubby took the mugs to the river to sleep with the fishes. 

Meanwhile Don Meanie was trying to make sense of what had just happened. "This 'family' has never had trouble with the Chicago 'family.'  Go figure.  Splat, You know some mugs that might get inside and find out who sent these bears here?" Splat, still hurting from the weight of the bear on him, says. "I think I know two who might just work.  I'll get in touch with them and you can meet them." 

The next day these two mugs came into the club and went up to Splat at the bar. "Splat, We sure are glad to here from you.  Me and Burny sure can use the work.  I ain't been able to work since the night that blond burst into our house."  The mug doing the talking was nicknamed Bare Bear.  The story was , this blond claiming to be lost and tired burst in on Bare when he was getting a shower. He was so traumatized, he couldn't get outta bed for weeks.

Anyway, Splat introduces them to Don Meanie."  Don, these two mugs are gonna need some cleaning and dressing up but I think they'll get the job done for you."  Don Meanie looked them over and says,"  I want you two to go up to Chicago and use your eyes and ears.  Find out what the "Family" up there is up to.  Splat, send them over to the 'factory' and give them an 'idea' of how they should look.  And don't forget the heart tags."   Burny and Bare were cleaned and dressed and placed on a truck to Chicago.  What they found when they got there is a story in it self.

Next time Don Meanie will tell that story.