Adirondack car show lake george

Setting, Hospital Jan 7 2023. Me, my parents, my little sister and my grandpa.
We had went to see him that day at the hospital to cheer him up and not feel lonely. We had talked with him about stuff (I can't remember what). After about 30-40 minutes at the hospital we said get better and hugged him. This was the last time I would hug him ever. On the car ride home I thought about what it would be like if he died.
Setting, Sunday Jan 8 2023. My home, Me, my parents and my little sister.
I was at home watching youtube as I always do, not looking forward to school, thinking about summer break (Almost there!) And about my thought in the car.
Setting Monday Jan 9 2023 my house. Me my dad and my little sister, 8:18 am.
We where getting ready for school like always and my dad's phone rang st 8:24 am, I thought it was a scammer or postal service. But my dad said in a soft but then a loud voice: "wait what? [Listening] F**K! [Hangs up in tears]" goes to the bathroom. Me and my sister went ro our rooms when we heard him yell. In the washroom I heard him yell on the phone or just yell "My dad's dead" when I heard that it took me a minute to comprehend that and just teard up. About 9 am my mom got home and explained that to my little sister and I heard her crying. And then she came to me and explained, I told her I already knew.
9:38 am, in the car. Driving to my grandma's apartment. My dad in tears, my mom (driving) sad, and me and my little sister sad af. Once we got there my grandma was in tears just howling. We hugged her and made her feel a little better. We talked a bit on how she never talked to him about If this day had come at all. After we talked with her. We said goodbye, got In the car and went to the hospital.
10:24 the hospital, the same people.
We got to the room and then I saw him, pale and on his death bed. My dad said "no!" And sat down next to him. I sobbed but didn't want to show that i was. I wanted to make them think that I was built different, but my emotions got the best of me.
I am 11 posting this on reddit I know I'm not supposed to but I don't care.
How can I get though this to this day? Please help me.

Hey all, hoping someone might be able to explain something to me. My wife's Subaru got hit and run while parked. No real damage beyond the passenger side mirror being obliterated. The self repair of replacing the mirror didn't look too hard so we decided to save a few hundred bucks and do it ourselves. It actually went swimmingly and was a great thing to learn how to do. But there was one hit h we ran into. The mirror we got was for all trims 2008-2013. Physically matched up well, install went well, everything but the power adjust. The connector in the new mirror is 5 pins wide, the receptacle in the car to plug it in to is six pins wide. Not a show stopper, it's adjusted by hand for now. But now knowing how easy this was, I wouldn't mind doing it again to get full functionality back. Did we get the wrong mirror? Anyone know what those connectors are called?

Context: my social life is a gong show in my opinion, and I only have one friend, out of a group I had before graduating from highschool. Still have diplomas, but essentially we're done. The issue with my only friend is that he has more friends than I do, and he spends more time with them. I know that isn't wrong, just that it feels he prioritizes time with them more often than with me, and usually I just act as his vent, and driver, no matter how much he denies it. He plans the occasional thing or two with me, but I usually have to engage it, and convince him to come with. Otherwise, he either stays home, or goes with someone else to hang out, even if they're working.
Story: Today, I woke up expecting to go out and spend senior skip day with my friend in the city, which we said we'd do for the past week, nothing exactly planned, just hang out and talk while we went out, but instead, I woke up to a text message, of him saying he got picked up by his friends to go to the party at a lake instead last minute. I felt, and still feel betrayed at that. I was angry, and asked him basically "wtf bro?" And all he could say was "sorry." And that he had forgotten to tell them he couldn't go, so it was fine if he had just left me apparently. This pissed me off, so I just spent the day at home. Only to realize at the end, the party was for everyone, and not invite specific, even though he was specifically asked to go, and I wasn't. So I learned that from one of his friends, and idk if I'd consider them my friends anymore, and I feel regret and betrayal at the same time. Idk what it do.
I know it's the end of highschool, and it's drama from my end, but I can't shake that it makes me very mad, and depressed that my best friend just turns me away on a dime.

Doors open, opening act, is Noel coming out first or garbage? I'm up for the salt lake city show in Utah next week.
Thank you

I'm not even sure where to begin, I'm deeply hurt by my mom's actions and words. She's spiraled into someone I cannot even recognize and I feel like I've lost her-even though she's still alive. I'm sorry for this being such a long rant. Our situation has not been the best in the last 3-4 years. We've been financially struggling, yet every time we're close to getting caught up, my mom decides to take a trip or impulsively spends her money. I won't lie, my family isn't the most financially literate, but they're all hard workers.
To start, in 2020, when lockdown happened, my mother reconnected with one of her old friends in another country. Eventually, she broke the news to my little sister, (we'll call her B) and I that she was in a new relationship, (V). This was a shocker for both of us, but we were happy for her because her previous relationship was rather toxic for my mother and was consistently on and off for years. The first time she left B and I, was later in 2020 when COVID was still at peak, we were both 13 and 16. At first it was supposed to be two weeks, then she extended her stay to a month, then to two months.
When my mom had left, my grandma was in charge of B and I. My grandma blocked my mother the moment she landed, she was convinced my mother was lying to her because grandma was getting notifications that the account password was trying to be changed in 3 places within the country my mother was going to. At this point, things were already tense, because B was already feeling like mom was invalidating her and still treating her like a child, even though she was turning into a teen. My mom made excuses to her staying longer by saying how there were storms and that, "she couldn't know him in just 2 weeks".
Mom and Grandma have never had a very stable relationship. They've both done hurt to each other that I hope they can get therapy. One thing my mom said to grandma is "Oh you're so hard to deal with even your husband finds you impossible". My grandpa hasn't talked to my mom since and can't stand the way she talks to grandma. Plus, mom has a tendency to lie, or as she puts it "keep people out her business", will say something completely off about the situation or leave out extremely important details. My mom would have me log in to some of her accounts while she was away and would have me submit a form almost every week for her relief or something of the sorts. Turns out, she was using it for her trip and asked me for her certificates and important papers to send to her friend who was going to send it to my mother. My mother was planning on marrying the guy without saying anything to B and I.
She even told my dad we needed groceries and would have him send 200 a week. I spoke to my dad and told him we don't go every week and that mom was out the country. Obviously, dad wasn't aware and was rightfully upset with her. He was sending money for B and I, while my mom was out probably using it for her trip. B and I had no idea he was sending money to her. Mom was outraged and told me she wasn't lying and just with holding information. My dad confronted mom over the phone, telling her how she should've told him. How concerned he was for our safety, which is valid. My mom calls me back and claimed my grandma was brainwashing me and how I was ruining her friendship with dad. She told me to call my dad and tell him we were okay. She told me how she deserved a vacation and to not get frustrated with her.
Like I mentioned before, my mom refused to treat my sister like a teenager, refused to let her watch age appropriate shows and just treated her like she was 6. My grandma, B, and I, all like watching crime. Mom hated when B would watch and told her, "I don't want you to be what OP is and I don't want you to be lost like her and how she is". I was 5 months into therapy around this time, I wanted to get help and get better. I cried when I saw the messages. Not even two weeks later mom came back. B and I didn't greet her, to which she said, "You girls are so ungrateful", slammed her door and didn't talk to us.
I love my mom, I wanted to have a good relationship with her and took it upon myself to do damage control. We "cleared" things up through our talk. Except she talked to where it would be in her favor and play her as the victim. Things were good for the next two months until she decided to go back again. This time she would be marrying V, her new man. Before my mom left, she was adamant on refusing to tell my dad she was leaving. She practically threatened B and I to not. My dad was upset we didn't tell him she went out the country again, and me being a dumb 16 year old, told him I didn't think it was my responsibility to inform him.
By the time mom came back, it was almost a week before B's birthday. Mom broke the news that she was pregnant. Neither of us were happy. B and I cried and mom wasn't happy with our reactions. She was upset for a couple of days and I turned around and offered my support to her. B was heart broken since she's always been the baby in the family. Mom having another was the straw that broke the camel's back. Their relationship was just torn from that moment. She did go with her out of the country just for vacation. As my sister puts it, it wasn't a great experience and mom was upset with her for not speaking much.
Mom was also slowly getting disowned by the family by the time she came back. When she was due in late 2021, I offered to stay in the hospital with her, but because I wasn't 18 and COVID was still an issue, they wouldn't allow me. My grandma instead stayed with her and eventually left after the baby was born. Rather than picking up my mom from the hospital, she offered to drop the seat and told my mom she could UBER home. I don't agree with how grandma handled it, my mom did just have a baby.
All was well, baby was fine. School was okay, I did struggle a bit because of other factors. However, by the time I had graduated, I decided to take a gap year. I didn't know what I wanted to major in. If I did go, I didn't want to drop out, continuously change majors, or worry about how it would get paid. At the time, my family was still struggling financially. I picked up hours at my job, and mom stayed with her friend who was also her boss. Her boss was not paying her at the time because she was in the process of a divorce after her husband put her business in jeopardy.
I became financially responsible in the meantime and had to pick up some of the bills, with the very little I received from my pay. Mom would get paid time to time, but it was so inconsistent that I was the one who was head of household. Sometime she would pay me back and other times, she refused to and would apply the amount to a bill she believed I needed to pay. She financed a new car that was well beyond what we could pay, same for the insurance for me. We split the car note and I split the insurance with my dad. Every month I was paying 450, including half the insurance, for a car I do not use a quarter of the time. Only time I would have it frequently was when mom was out on a trip to see her husband, since I don't have a car of my own.
Mom eventually invited her boss and kid to come live with us, told her to not pay the first months rent and let her stay until earlier this year. Her boss was late on payments and overall it was an uncomfortable experience living there because I felt like they were leeching off of us. The bills were doubled or tripled and I was expected to pay some of them. Before they moved in, I expressed to my mom how I didn't think it was a good idea since she was already behind paying her and was inconsistent with her payments and owed her so much. Mom refused to listen and just let it happen. B was uncomfortable and ended up staying with our grandma more often and rarely came over.
Around this time, mom became very pushy about me babysitting. She would ask when I was off and if I could watch baby. Not ask, more of demand. Sometimes I would offer, but it became a problem to which I barely had time to myself. One incident happened near the holidays. It was around Black Friday time, the car was in the shop because I accidently hit a deer that ran in front of me. We were using a rental at the time. I told my mom a week before that I needed the day I had off, because I would be working 5 days, only have one day off, and then work 6 days in a row. Mom didn't listen and the day before, asked me to babysit because the babysitter couldn't. I told her no and she guilt tripped me and told me she would be home at 3. She left at 11, came back at 3ish with hand tattoos. Showed me them and then left. I was in disbelief that my mom would do that. It was a punch to the face, she knew we were already struggling, and she knew I needed that day off. My grandma was the one who picked her up from the rental. Mom wasn't home until 6. Mom left for thanksgiving with her aunt. She came back and left again for a month for Christmas with baby to go out of the country to see her husband.
Before she came back, her boss packed her stuff and left without a word to my mom. By the time she came back, it was tense, she was let go and had to look for a new job. I was fed up with the constant babysitting and had either my grandma take me to work or my boyfriend, K. I rarely offered and mom would ask but I would rarely say yes or made an excuse. More as of recently, it's come to the point where I feel as though I'm living with a roommate and not my mom. B isn't at home and I don't blame her. Luckily I've reconnected with my family after being isolated and taking my mom's side for a few months. My family is supporting me and I'm going back to school next semester.
I made plans one weekend with K and my mom called me the next morning and asked me to watch baby. I offered to buy the things she needed and said "No, I have things to return". I offered to return them, she refused. She said "These are things I need to buy on my own". I asked her why she couldn't take baby, her only excuse was that baby and her had a long day yesterday and that, "it would be tedious and time consuming getting baby ready". I told her, "Yes, that's YOUR child." Mom sarcastically said, "Wow, you're right. Thanks for reminding me like I didn't know," and hung up.
My mom has a tendency to give silent treatment. Why? I don't know. I had gotten off of work late one night, mom picked me up and I asked if we could stop by somewhere that was still open. After receiving my food, we're pulling out, there's a car coming by and I told her to not go. She's on her phone texting, stops, and says "I know, I've been driving for years. When have you seen me turn and drive?" Without thinking, I respond, "When have I not." She blows up at me saying how she's tired of my stupid annoying comments and refuses to talk to me the rest of the way home. I tell her "goodnight, I love you," when we get home. I say it 5-6 times before she responds back saying goodnight.
The next day, she was silent with me when I came home. While I'm leaving with some of my stuff since I was staying the night at K's, I say "bye mom. I'm leaving, I love you." She only responds with a bye in a serious tone. I cried in K's car, even the next night when I stopped by for a few more things, she was cold. I decided to test to see if she was purposely refusing to say it back. When I told her bye and I love you, she just said bye. I repeated it one more time and it was the same response. She later texted me saying "I love you, don't ever doubt it." I didn't respond. She said it the next few days, but remained cold with me. Just recently, she texted me while at work and asked me about the move situation. I hadn't responded just yet and she sends a long paragraph about how I owe her the respect of answering her important messages and that I should find the time to. By the time I see the message, I tell her I'm at work, that she knows I do not look at my messages and that I have B's and I's situation under control.
Last night, as I was leaving to stay at K's again, I ask mom if she had already taken the day off for orientation. She's quiet and in a monotone voice replies, "yes, why?" I tell her my aunt offered to go since she's experienced school and would like to help. Plus, mom was already tense and I do not want to be stressed when we go. She goes off about how I'm an adult and I make my own decisions and how I should do whatever my heart desires. I stare at her for a second. I really wanted mom to go with me, but with the way things are, I decided it was best not to. I finally tell her that I think my aunt should go with me. When I tell her I'm leaving and to have a goodnight and that I love her. She only responds with a goodnight. I'm sobbing when I close the door and in my boyfriend's car. On our way to his house, mom calls, says my cats and I need to be out before the beginning of next month, and tells me she will be looking into handing over custody of B to me. I try not to cry while I say, okay, I love you. She hangs up without a word.
I'm extremely heartbroken and overwhelmed. I'm so mentally and physically drained from work and mom. I feel like I've given her all my support, all my time and money only to receive very little back. I miss my mom. I miss when we would talk and not just for 5 minutes a day. I miss when B, her and I would hang out, not just her on her phone calling her husband 24/7. I miss when mom didn't drag me into her issues and expect me to put her fires out with dad and the family. I miss making jokes with my mom and having conversations without her turning our talks against me. I miss mom.
The thing is, my mom's made her decisions and expected B and I to be okay with it. She's basically given up on B and just doesn't text her unless she needs something or to borrow money. I know B and I will be okay eventually, but I'm so distraught over the idea of cutting off mom. I know it's for the best, and hopefully she realizes her mistakes.
Mom has never been a bad mom. She's been a good mom. She's worked hard to provide for B and I. To make sure we lived comfortably. I know my mom has a lot of baggage and trauma I hope she can get help for. I love my mom and I want her to get the help she needs, but she's made it extremely apparent, she does not want it. I've tried my best to stick by her side, but I needed her to stick by mine too. I really do love my mom, but this is not my mom. I'm stuck on how mom used to be that I refuse to realize that this is how she is. I love mom, but I know that I have to let her go and be better than how she is now. Not just for me, but for B too.

Yeah I know roadside assistance is something you can get from like any insurance, but I just had to deal with my car not starting trapped in a parking lot and having to try to get my car towed for the very first time and it was just…. So convenient? Just had to choose a dealership and select my name and car and voila, tow truck called and ordered and sent to my rescue. Tow company calls me to tell me the total and automatically has allstate’s portion and everything, so i immediately know my out of pocket cost. I paid with card so even better, paid over the phone before the dude ever even had to show up.
They don’t even require you to be at your car when you show.
I’ve never had to tow my car before and wouldn’t know the first thing about pricing or even who tf I would call to begin with, and Allstate just made it so easy. I appreciate it tenfold. Today has been a crap day made slightly better by convenience lol.

I've started hanging out with a friend more lately who happens to be a woman. We both recently just got out of relationships, mine was only 5 months, but hers was 5 years(our break ups were 2 weeks apart). She is pretty jaded about dating again and I'm also not really looking for another right now(I do miss having someone tho).
We were already friends before covid, but towards the end we started talking and hanging out more. After our break ups we would hang out like every other day and would go to bars to drink and talk about life and video games. Some how we got onto friends with benefits, which is something I very much stay away from. I knew she had 2 guy friends like that, and it never bothered me, cause we are just friends. She asked me how I felt about fwb, I told her I don't do that cause I ALWAYS catch feelings and don't want to be heart broken. So a week goes by and I ask her if she wants to hangout. We go to a bar, I guess one of her fwb bailed last minute, and I just felt like drinking and having fun(they had a game night). While we were drinking she brought up the friends with benefits again with me, and I reiterated how I will ALWAYS catch feeling and want to stay away from that(I catch them fast too 😮‍💨). We don't talk about it anymore, but then make plans to come back in 2 days for a dnd night they have.
We play video games online with each other like everyday, so we are always kinda hanging out everyday. So the dnd day comes up and we have fun at the bar, but then she starts to touch my leg a bit and I kinda just write it off as just being drunk and over thinking it. So I get way too drunk and have to crash at her place(I would uber, but my car is at her place and it cost way too much to get home). I start to sleep on the floor, but she tells me to sleep in the bed. I think about it for a bit and was gonna just tell her the floor is fine, but before I say anything she says it's fine and it doesn't mean anything. So being drunk and dumb I sleep in the bed without another thought about it. She tells me she want to cuddle and that it doesn't mean anything, so like an idiot I flop over into a cuddle position and we pass out(nothing else happens after that and I go home after giving her a hug good bye the next morning).
I go to her bday party and she comes over after she cancels going out to a club. We watch some shows in my room and then cuddle a bit. I send her off to the spare bedroom at my place after a few more hours of shows and cuddling. I sleep in my bed and she sleeps in the other room. She goes home the next morning after we get some breakfast and talk about life and dumb game shit(overwatch 2).
Let's skip to like 20 days later, when we are going to the ren faire together. It's me her and her best friend(my other friends bailed on me last minute). We all have fun and her friend says she has to go after a bit, so we see her off. We are pretty drunk at this point and we start taking pictures together. She catches me off guard and kisses me in one of the photos. We start taking couples photos after that and I'm picking her up and playing along now(im a dumbass). We stroll around the faire a bit longer and then decided to head home now that I'm sober enough to drive. We head back to my place and drink and play some video games. After a few hours we move onto Netflix and we cuddle again. She is too drunk to drive home now, so she sleeps over and invites me to sleep in the same bed as her(she says she is just like sleeping next to someone). I join her, but the she starts cuddling with me more and I get turned on(it's very noticeable I'm just in undies). I apologize to her and she shows me that she is also turned on, and being a bit high from weed and drunk I start playing with her(she seems to be enjoying it and I love that). She stops me from continuing with my hands and then I take as a sign to back off. The we wake up next day get breakfast and then she goes home.
Like a week and a half goes by and we go hiking by my place, it was a lot of fun, we decided to go back to my place and smoke and game. It gets late really fast and so I offer the spare bed. She tells me to come sleep with her and I join her. We cuddle more and I obviously get turned on again and she plays with it a bit. After a few minutes of that I work up the courage to ask her if she wanted to do more, because of last time(not sure if yall could tell, but I already caught feelings after the kiss). She makes fun of me for not doing more last time, and then we do it after a bit of laughing.
Next day the we hang out together the whole day and go drinking with my friends, but I hold off as I'm driving. We go back to my place and the same thing as the night before happens(smoke and sex). The next day we get lunch and she really opens up to me about her and her family and I listen and to my best to be there for her. She tells me she loves me as a friend and I also feel similar to that, but instead of saying anything I just give her a hug.
The next week I go over to her place to play games, smoke weed, and chat. I tell her that I want to date her and my feelings that have developed. She tells me that she doesn't want to jump back into a relationship so soon. I understand that and tell her that I would wait for her if she ever wants to be with me that way(I'm dumb). We cuddle and I pass out. I go home the next day not feeling so great, but happy I got my feelings out to her.
Let's say like 3 days go by and we don't really talk all that much other than sending memes back and forth. One night I ask her if she wants to hang out and grab some food. She agrees, but wants to be brought home cause she misses her place. So we go for a walk and then drive in my car. We stop to talk and cuddle for a bit in my car. We talk and she wants me to know that she wouldn't do things with me if she didn't have some feelings for me, but tells me that she doesn't want a relationship and doesn't want to lose the friendship. We cuddle and kiss a bit and then I drive her home.
For the past few times we have hung out we don't really do anything but kissing a bit. I went on what I thought was a very date like thing(we went on a picnic in a nice arboretum). We kissed a few times and then she said she doesn't want to kiss anymore, so we stopped and just talked and then walked around. I brought her home cause she works early in the morning and doesn't want to stay up all night with me(seems fair).
I'm sure there are things I forgot. I would like a woman's opinion on this and I don't know what to do. I know I'm willing to wait for her to like me back, but I also don't want to be heart broken. What do I do? I'm so hopelessly lost in all of this. She still does stuff with her fwb and I get left feeling stupid and used.
You can ask anything and be as harsh as you want. Also I apologize for my bad grammar and maybe missing words.

Hello everyone please delete if not allowed. My car was stolen this morning between 12am-4am from my apartment complex in southeast Houston near pearland. If anyone has any Information or sees this car please let me or HPD know any help is greatly appreciated. It’s a 2021 dodge challenger scat pack Texas plates PXG-7460. I did already try locating via Uconnect system and it shows up as offline.
Car: https://imgur.com/a/cT74GVD/

So I’m going to a cosmetologist because of my acne, the woman that does it became really good friends with my mom. This cosmetologist woman has a son and she asked for me to help his son find a place to work because on his current work he doesnt get a lot of money, the day we went we met and at first we seamed to have a lot of common, then we somehow started talking about crypto and he said that he already made 70G from it and is saving for a really good car, he introduced me to crypto and said he can teach me a few things. We then talked for some days and he was showing sometime how much he got from a day (+/- 3G) by making screenshots from the app where he trades. Yesterday I saw a video of him buying an IPhone 14 pro for his mother so I asked did he really buy it, he said yes. Today I was talking to my mother and said about the phone that he bought the phone himself and my mom said that his mom bought it by herself and my mom was talking with her about buying a phone a few days earlier so she is certain that his mom is the one that bought it. He sometimes offered to pay me for gasoline because I was driving him to search for work but I said no. He also said for me to get at least 20$ ( because I also said I won’t put too much money on it right now) to invest on crypto and offered to help get money from it and I’m still waiting to get money there and see if he actually will help me get something. So my question is why would he lie to me about the phone for his mom? Is he somehow trying to profit from me?

I really need this because my mom was at the show and she got into a bad car accident in 2000 and she doesn't remember the show well and I'd like to jog her memory

Wowza, zen, how’s it going?
You see that foinkydoink coming down the pipeline soon—the total and merciless execution of all third party apps? Or are you too distracted by the local factoid tornado—and the factoid tornado chasers—to have noticed?
Hey, wouldja look at that—that intro ain’t too bad, regardless of whether you’re an zen zennist or any old hapless denizen of contemporary western civilization!
Which is why I want to talk about keeping one’s eye on the prize.
Life and Death.
This is the matter I am always interested in settling. This is the matter I look into during my study of self nature. This is the matter that interests and invests the moment of my day.
You see, I just can’t imagine how else the sword that kills and the sword that gives life can be kept sharp—if one isn’t examining this very matter with their whole being.
Maybe I’m incorrect about that. Maybe I’m plain old wrong. Perhaps there’s an internet Zen Master looking at these words on their computer screen, who’s gonna come in here and filch my steaming rice bowl right in front of everyone. Or perhaps there’s some academic with a PhD in Buddhism hovering up there in the clouds, who will point me to the error of my ways.
But I don’t know those people. I’ve never met them. I don’t live next door to them, and have never been able to observe them or interact with them face-to-face—indeed not even one time—even if the do exist. Which means, as a secular lay person, that one has to get creative in pursuing the matter of life and death, doesn’t it? One can’t just invent a fake religious war, and then pretend you’re examining this matter with the charade, can you? No—one can’t do that. One can’t supplant this matter with another matter—say, a gobbledlygook “academic” crusade that does little more than direct nearby lemmings to conveniently placed cliffs—one has to examine it directly. And one has to do so oneself.
Just to see if we are on the same page, readers and lurkers.
Now—to the text:

FIFTEENTH CASE
Yun Men’s Upside-Down Statement
POINTER
The single-edged sword that kills people, the double-edged sword that brings people to life; the customary rule of high antiquity is still the pivotal essential for today. But tell me, right now, which is the sword that kills people, which is the sword that brings people to life? To test, I cite this; look!
CASE
A monk asked Yun Men, “When it’s not the present intellect and it’s not the present phenomena, what is it?”^1,a
Yun Men said, “An upside-down statement.”²

—

NOTES
1. Why the leaping about? Fall back three thousand miles. 2. They come out even. Truth comes out of the convict’s mouth; he can’t be let go. He stretches out his body in the wild weeds.
TRANSLATORS’ NOTES a. The monk in this case is supposed to be the same as in the fourteenth; the teachings of the age are devised and established according to the state of the intellect and total capacity of the hearers, in terms of the phenomenal situation. In an immediate sense, the present intellect and phenomena mean perceiver and perceived; according to Tenkei, the monk had seen that there is nothing outside of mind, and that all things are empty.

Right in the pointer, do you guys notice where it says that the sword that kills people is single-egded, and the sword that brings people to life is double-edged? What do you suppose that means? Also: is it possible to examine another’s sword, do you think? Like—as they use it on you—or perhaps if you can snatch it away? (“Hey, I know this sword!” ::snatches hilt, examines blade::)
Yun Men’s response is great here. As Yuanwu points out in his commentary (“The monk is unquestionably an adept.”) this monk is enlightened, and doing something funny with his question, isn’t he? Yun Men points this out directly: “An upside-down statement!” ie: that question isn’t really a question at all! Yuanwu comments that Yun Men is riding the thief’s horse in pursuit of the thief here (a great line!), by matching the abstruseness of his own statement to the monk’s “question”.
Let’s look at the

VERSE
An upside-down statement:
Dividing one token,
Dying with you, being born with you, to give you certainty.
The eighty-four thousand disciples of Buddha were not phoenix feathers;
Thirty-three men entered the tiger’s den.
Distinctly outstanding—
The moon in the churning rushing water.

The Blue Cliff Record Thomas Cleary & J.C. Cleary
The “dying with you, being born with you” is the part that catches my eye, here. Let’s see what Yuanwu says:

Hsueh Tou has always had the technique of letting go; he dares to enter the mud and water for your sake, to die and be born together with you. ”
“If Yun Men were not someone whose whole capacity had penetrated through to liberation, how could he die with you and be born with you?”

These quotes are interesting to me, in how they point to the Zen Masters’ ability to “be born and die” for you / the person they are helping. I think that is a very interesting idea. What does it mean? They literally enter—and exit—the realm of birth and death for the sake of the person they are helping? (Linseed: How would one do that?!? Content for later!) How does one get to be like this? How does one actually do it? How much self nature does one have to study before one can be born or die as the circumstances require?
Okay just a head’s up—this is the first part of a two part post. I filmed two videos for it. The second post will be following later or sometime tomorrow or tomorrow evening or some such. (The second post will be about the later parts of the commentary to the case, and will talk about the characteristics of a Zen teacher as laid out by Yuanwu.)
The video for this post looks at the idea from this line:

Thirty-three men entered the tiger’s den.

This is, of course, referring to the Zen patriarchs. They are the ones described here as “entering the tiger’s den”. I think that’s one of my favorite metaphors that I’ve seen applied to the work that the Zen Patriarchs actually did: entering the tiger’s den!
Yuanwu, from the commentary:

“Thereafter it was handed on from patriarch to patriarch, in India and this country, through thirty-three men. All had the ability to enter the tiger’s den. The Ancients said, “If you don’t enter the tiger’s den, how can you catch a tiger cub?”

and

abandoned, he makes you break open and lets you grab the tiger’s whiskers.”

Entering the tiger’s den? Now that sounds like a good way to examine the matter of life and death, doesn’t it? Up close and personal? Tweak a few tiger whiskers?
How does one gain the ability to enter the tiger’s den? How does one test whether one has the ability to enter the tiger’s den?¹
How does one study one’s own self-nature in such a way that it is “entering the tiger’s den”?
I think these are great questions, and fun, and much more central to the function of Zen study than any of the doctrine and rhetoric I often see chomping back and forth across this forum like a pair of wind-up dentures that someone spit out too soon.
So anyhoo I made a video for you all.
In a discussion of these and sundry subjects with another user a few days ago, I inadvertently coined a sentence that distilled much of my own Zen study to its essence, while also giving me the opportunity to steal a teaching moment from my own forest. In a discussion of “testing”, what I said was this:
“You can’t test your moose knowledge with criticial thinking, you have to test it with a moose.”
—Linseed, a few days ago
I think that statement applies just as well to Zen as it does to moose. I’m glad I have this forum where I can come and discuss Zen so freely—but a den of thieves and a tiger’s den are not the same thing, are they? For one, a tiger lives in the animal realm, doesn’t it? And it is a being of the animal realm you meet in the tiger. I know they look ridiculous—and to some perhaps they may seem as innocuous and comical as Bullwinkle—but a moose is the best tiger stand-in you can find in these woods, and are one of the most intetesting things a hermit can actually test themself against when it comes to the matter of life and death.
I mean, maybe not everyone goes about their Zen study in such a manner. But I don’t think it’s a challenging concept to grasp that the study of self nature will both use and reflect the environment that the self finds itself in (har har). And if moose seem like a better test of self than driving a car in to work in an office every day—at least to some of us—I can’t see how that would be surprising either. After all, the Zen masters talk about leaving the office and showing up in the forest—not the other way around.
Anwyay, here’s the video I filmed for you on these matters:
Entering the Moose Den.
Apologies for any lack of quality in the video. It has been a struggle getting back to a point where I can film or talk on film at all since I quit tobacco. I have no plans to be making a lot of content at the moment, in fact—I’m also needing my time for other things—but in light of the approaching 3rd party app shutdown / potential Reddit apocalypse, I’m going to try and get a few videos and OPs banged out between now and then.
Thanks for reading and watching.
👋
—Linseed
¹ I refer any of the tiger-curious who might be out there to Zen Master Farong in the Transmission of the Lamp if they wish to pursue the subject further.

You’re taking a bath in a lake when you surface from rinsing your hair and the most attractive man you've ever seen is standing at the shoreline. When he sees you he says, "I thought I smelled humans." "That's not a normal statement," you say and he smiles. "But you’re not mortal are you?" he asks. You know you should be afraid of this man, and yet you say, "Show me yours and I’ll show you mine."

Pros: Get interested in a lot of things easily
Good conversationalist
Not shy
Not a pervert
Is not dry
Optimistic
Funny ego
Likes Good TV shows like breaking bad, Better Call Saul, and Bojack horseman
Likes Good movies like Cars, KFP trilogy, Shanghai noon/knights
Mexican-American
Exercises
Cons Ego can be excessive
Very opinionated
Controversial political stances
Short (5'4 or 163)
Attention whore
Will talk non stop about my favorite music and books
Will occasionally seek validation

Hey, fellow DoorDashers! I just had one of those unforgettable experiences that I had to share with you all. Brace yourselves for a wild ride filled with tacos, a rude customer, and a disastrous case of... well, you'll see. So, I recently accepted an order from Taco Bell worth $13, delivering 3.7 miles away. Seemed like a pretty straightforward gig, and the payout was decent, so I thought, why not? Upon arriving at the customer's house, I already had a gut feeling that something was off. The moment I handed the order to him, he wore a scowl on his face that could scare away a pack of wolves. Nevertheless, I maintained my professionalism and handed over the bag without a word. Now, here's where things took a turn for the worse. As I made my way back to my car, an unexpected and untimely stomach issue hit me like a ton of bricks. Yes, my friends, I had a bad fart that turned into a full-blown diarrhea episode. It was like my body was playing a cruel joke on me at the worst possible moment. Unaware of my unfortunate situation, I hurried back to my car, completely oblivious to the horror that awaited me. Little did I know, the customer had a Ring camera installed, and he captured the exact moment when I realized my predicament. Oh yes, he even went as far as to screenshot the footage and sent it to DoorDash support, claiming that it was the reason he deserved a refund. Can you believe the audacity of some people? Instead of showing a bit of empathy, this customer tried to use my embarrassing accident against me! It was humiliating enough to have it happen, but now I have to deal with the potential repercussions. I immediately contacted DoorDash support and explained the situation from my perspective. Thankfully, they were understanding and assured me they would handle the matter appropriately. They even sympathized with the fact that the customer had tried to use the footage against me. So, here I am, fellow Dashers, sharing my misadventure with all of you. Remember, no matter how tempting it may be, always be cautious when you think you've got a little gas building up during a delivery. And if you do find yourself in an unfortunate situation like mine, make sure to document everything and report it to support. Stay safe out there and may all your future deliveries be fart-free!
TL;DR: DoorDashed a $13 Taco Bell order to a rude customer, had a bad fart that turned into diarrhea right after the delivery. Customer captured the embarrassing moment on their Ring camera and tried to use it to get a refund. Contacted DoorDash support and they were understanding, promising to handle the situation appropriately. Moral of the story: be cautious about gas during deliveries and always document incidents for support.

The other day, my friends and I were planning a hangout and we were debating ideas on where to go and what to do.
Two of my friends settled on playing badminton and I expressed my disinterest. I mentioned that I don't want to do the same things we do each year, as they've become less interesting and fun. I said that I'm looking to expand my experiences rather than live through old activities. I explained that I wouldn't be interested in playing that or doing the same things we always do and therefore wouldn't be going if that's all we did.
Here's some context - my friends and I always say we'd like to do enjoy activities like camping trips, traveling, etc. but rarely ever do the plans that we intend. So I was frustrated and communicated that I wouldn't want to hangout if all we'd be doing is activities that we always do that have lowered in value (imo).
Anyway, we settled on a beautiful park which four of us explored. Later that day, one of our other friends who said he'd meet up with us after the park at a restaurant decided not to citing "it was hot". I expressed disappointment with his reasoning through text as did my other friends. One of my buds started to rant about how he didn't appreciate the way I spoke while we were organizing our get-together. He said that my delivery was negative (we were texting while figuring out what we wanted to do) and I should've worded it differently. I disagreed with him, saying that all I did was express myself and that if he took an issue with it, I suppose I wouldn't reply the next time. I wasn't mad and neither was he, I was merely frustrated with his assessment of my delivery as I viewed it as fine. My other friend, who was in the back of the car while we were driving, agreed, that my delivery was a bit cold/rude. He sounded hesitant in saying that like he was walking on egg shells around me.
The rest of our ride, I felt a bit sucky. On one hand, I merely expressed how I felt and communicated that assertively but also suggested other things we could do (which later led to one of our friends suggesting to go to a park instead.) And on another, I feel like had I just decided to ignore their messages and not show up like one of our friends, I'd be deemed "the asshole." So I'm curious as to what Reddit has to say. With some context, am I the asshole for saying I wouldn't show up if all we played was badminton and indulged in the same ordinary stuff like a cheap meal out? Or is that "threatening" a get together, as one friend pointed out?
Let me know and take care!

so basically what the title says
i had my second driving test scheduled yesterday morning after failing the first time round back in october
​
backstory
the first time: i panicked in the last 2 minutes of the test and failed horrendously on the parking manoeuvre. leading up to it, i don't think i passed any mock tests and felt quite unprepared despite having had lessons all summer and my instructor's approval
recently, i've been working on all my manoeuvres as well as timing and general road confidence. so, compared to last time, i felt much more ready - it showed too (i passed several mock tests and made a LOT of progress in different areas)
​
day of the test arrives and i'm waiting for my instructor to show up outside my house 20 minutes prior to the test (we did the pre-test lesson on sunday afternoon instead). it's 7:50 and i text my instructor. she calls in a panic and, of course, says she's overslept. she asks me to get one of my parents to drop me off at her house asap
my dad rushes me over and she catches up to my dad's car. it's now 5 mins before the test and i jump in the back. she whizzes us to the test centre, weaving in and out of traffic. i couldn't really believe what was happening so the more i try to recall, the less i remember
we get to the test centre, barely making it on time, and i immediately begin without really pausing to progress wtf just happened. i really did my best, i aced the manoeuvre (progress!) and it was all going fine. but i changed lanes when a car behind wasn't really letting me in (bad) and didn't see a car speeding up behind another car that was signalling to turn into the side road i was emerging from (worse - i failed for observations at a junction)
​
i sorta knew i'd fucked it up throughout the test, then had to hold myself back from crying when the examiner delivered the bad news. i just did not expect my morning to go down like that. and while the mistakes i made were definitely mine, i think my concentration was definitely hampered by the shit that went down before my test
i really appreciate my instructor, she's been amazing so far, but i feel really let down. is there anything i should do, other than cough up more money and hopefully pass a 3rd time? we're all human but this was quite the tremendous fuck up on her behalf

I'm trying to see if it would be viable to make a site that people can upload and show out the door pricing for cars/dealers around you. Want to gauge how much interest there is for something like this.
How many websites do you look through before purchasing a car?
Would you be willing to post a picture of a document showing out the door price online?
Would you buy a car online?

There's a scene from either a film or TV show that's been swimming in my mind for YEARS.
It's live action from either the 80s or 90s.
I only remember... a doll house. And cigar smoking rat or mouse inside and some barbie dolls enter and he starts to hit on them. He's kind of skeezy. And then I remember him driving their barbie car.
I'm not sure if it was a kids film or not.
DID I MAKE THIS UP???

August Maniaci Link: https://www.maryferrell.org/showDoc.html?docId=95092#relPageId=11&search=caminiti_rockford)
History of the Milwaukee Outfit
-Al Capone was a camorrista and an associate of Masseria and Capone had a large scale gambling and bootlegging operation
-Joe Aiello would gamble at Capone's places, but when he would lose, he would have the gambling operation raided and Aiello's men would take much more money than was lost
-Capone was paying protection to Masseria
-A dispute arose between Masseria and Aiello and Masseria than brought Capone in and made him a capodecina and told Capone to kill Aiello
-In 1926 or 1927, there was a "Appalachian type meeting" (Generale assemblea?) in Pewaukee, Wisconsin. The meetings purpose was to make peace in Chicago, but other families attended
-Tough Tony Capesio was one of the shooters in the St. Valentine's day massacre
-Jack Zutta, a Jewish Aiello associate, was murdered by Capone's gang
-The Milwaukee mafia banned people from helping Aiello.
-Sam Aiello, Joe Caminiti, and Migele Mineo were former Aiello members who fled Chicago to join the Milwaukee family
-Sam Aiello wasn't sympathetic about his brother. Sam returned to Chicago later and was in Jim DiGeorge's crew
-Carl Caputa left Chicago and went to Madison where he became boss. Joe "Joe Pizza Pie" Aiello (unspecified relation to the Joe Capone wared with) went with Caputa to Madison
-Milwaukee didn't try to extort any gamblers until Sam Ferrara
-Al Capone was Neopolitan, the next boss was Tony Accardo who was "Thelast Sicilian to be an important boss," Accardo was succeeded by a Neopolotan Sam Giancana (Pretty sure this info is wrong)
-Chicago outfit was a "Money grabbing operation" where only a few leaders profit "at the expense of the general membership" this had an effect on Milwaukee
-Chicago took over Milwaukee in 1952
-Sam Ferrara wanted to have a piece of the Ogden social club which was a gambling place that Frank Balistrieri had a piece on and Balistieri was Son-In-Law to John Alioto. Balistrieri said no to Ferrara and then Ferrara shelved Balistrieri. Milwaukee then asked Chicago to help them with all the trouble.
-A general meeting was held in 1952; Tony Accardo, Rocco Fischetti, and Sam Giancana attended. Sam Ferrara was taken down as boss and replaced by John Alioto
-Alioto reinstated Balistrieri and made him a capodecina
-While Alioto was boss, no gamblers or businessmen were extorted
-John DiTrapani was a capodecina who didn't like Alioto, so he said he would spend $90,000 and even was willing to finance some murders
-One of DiTrapani's friends "Pasternak" lost a lot of money gambling with the outfit and DiTrapani made it known he was very upset
-Furthermore, Alioto heard about Ditrapani's plans to become boss and this sealed DiTrapani's fate
-Chicago were the ones who ordered DiTrapani's murder, not Alioto
-DiTrapani and Frank LaGalbo (a member and DiTrapani associate) were called to a meeting by the Chicago outfit. The meeting was going to be in Milwaukee though.
-LaGalbo warned DiTrapani not to go. LaGabo himself wasn't going to go.
-DiTrapani went anyway and on March 16, 1954 he was murdered. the following day he was found shot in his car
-LaGalbo was very well connected to Chicago and he set up a transfer where he would be in the Chicago family in the decina of Frank LaPorte
-LaPorte was centered in Chicago Heights
-Jack Enea was also apart of the faction that wanted Alioto taken down as boss. he wasn't killed until November, 1954 (Chicago authorized it)
-In January of 1962, Joe Alioto retired and Frank P. Balistrieri took over, Alioto was upset about this. Alioto apparently felt it should've gone to an older man
-furthermore, Alioto was upset that Balistrieri had an affair with his wife's cousin
-Balistrieri began shaking down gamblers and businessmen
-Balistrieri was collecting $500-$600 from Bruno Ramazini and John Volpe who ran the Holiday House
-Despite not collecting from Frank and Jimmy Fazio who ran restaurants, there was an incident where a bomb went off. After this, Balistrieri went to Florida and when he came back he said that they had a piece of Jimmy Fazio's place in Fort Lauderdale
-Balistrieri was not liked by older members because he never consulted with anyone before making decisions and Maniaci even said it would not surprise him if Balistrieri was murdered. Maniaci said if anyone were to kill Balistrieri, it would be the outfit
II. Organization and Leadership -The 1957 Apalachin meeting was due to Albert Anastasia taking forcible action which affected other bosses without telling them.
-Anastasia was killed due to the disappearance of two unnamed men
-John Alioto and Frank Balistrieri were going to go to Apalachin but didnt at the last moment. Also, attendance was not mandatory at Apalachin
-Maniaci didn't know too much about the commission or its structure, but he said it had around 7 members and though he doesn't know if there is a "boss of bosses," if anyone was it would be Giancana (clearly shows his midwest bias)
-Giancana had control over Madison, Rockford, and Springfield
-Balistrieri went to Chicago periodically for meetings with Giancana, Battaglia, or capodecina Felix "Milwaukee Phil" Alderisio. These meeting were at the underboss Sam Battaglia's farm
-occassionally, Balistrieri would meet with Alderisio, Battaglia, and Marshal Caifano in a Milwaukee hotel
-Ralph Capone of Mercer, Wisconsin isn't connected with Milwaukee or Chicago
-At one point, the Pfister hotel manager Marvin Billet made a deal and Kansas City member Sebastian "Buster" Balestrere (who was "imported" to Milwaukee along with Joseph Gurera for the purpose of shaking bookmakers and businessmen down) found out and this led to Balestrere having leverage over Billet. Eventually, the Fox Head Brewery bought a hotel in Jamiaca and Buster made Billet manager. Balistrieri asked Giancana if he wanted to "take over a large gambling casino in the hotel." Billet lost the managorial position and their plan didn't work.
-Balistrieri is involved in the Continental Music Company.
-The chicago outfit may have 500 members (this is wrong as they may not have had 100 at their peak, though it shows how the smaller families saw them)
-Sam Giancana is the boss, Sam "Teets" Battaglia is the underboss, and the following are capodecina: Felix Alderisio, Marshal Caifano, Frank LaPorte, Tony Maccalucci (ph), and Ross Prio
-Ross Prio is a north side leader who was originally in Jim DiGeorge's crew
-Maniaci heard complaints that people are upset in Chicago that only a few are making money. Also, they are upset that Sam Giancana "is too much of a playboy." CI also advised that John Cerone may be Giancana's successor. Cerone is very close to Tony Accardo
-Frank Balistrieri is related to former Kansas City boss James "Big Jim" Balistrieri (It appears his real last name was Balestrere, though his fathers last name was Balistrieri)
-Joseph Cusimano and Joe Jellosa (or Jealouso) are two Kansas City members who have visited Milwaukee in the past
-The Kansas City import Joseph Gurera was said to have killed two politicians (clearly referring to the infamous hit that left Charles Binaggio and Charles Gargotta dead)
-Balistrieri made Gurera a capodecina and Buster Balestrere worked under him. Both members went back to Kansas City in 1963 after pressure was put on Milwaukee for Anthony Biernat's murder
-On April 18, 1964 Peter Balistrieri's (Frank's brother) daughter married Leonard Drewek, a non-Italian. John Molle, Buster Balestrere, and Jim Balestrere (Not made) all went to the wedding
-Peter Balistrieri is a capodecina
-Rockford's boss is Joseph Zummutto, the underboss is Frank Bucemi, and the consigliere is Joseph Zitto. (FNU) Caltegerone is a member who's old and used to be close to Milwaukee capodecina Pasquale Migliaccio. Caltergerone may be a reference to Carl "Charlie Vince" Caltegerone
-Madison, Wisconsin has 10-15 members. The boss is Carl Caputo and Joseph "Joe Pizza Pie" Aiello is a member. Both are wealthy with real estate investments.
-Benny DeSalvo was a capodecina in Madison, but died in February of 1964 at 84 years old. He was buried in Chicago
-The following is the boss succession of Milwaukee: Vito Guardalabene (Nicola Gentile reported Joseph Vallone was the underboss in 1915) Peter Guardalabene (Son of Vito) Joseph "Big Joe" Amato Joseph Vallone (Boss from mid 1920's-mid 1930's) Joseph Gumina was the underboss to Vallone (also says Gumina was capodecina, maybe he controlled a crew along with being consigliere) Charles Zarcone was the consigliere Pasquale Migliaccio was a capodecina Migele Mineo was a capodecina Tom Lucua (ph) was a capodecina Sam Ferrara (Mid 1930's-1952) Joe Gumina was the underboss (again lists him as capo too) Charles Zarcone is listed as consigliere Pasquale Migliaccio was a capodecina Migele Mineo was a capodecina Joseph Caminiti is also a captain (may have been captain under Vallone as well) John Alioto (1952-1962) Joe Gumina was the underboss (again lists him as capo too) Migele Mineo was a capodecina John DiTrapani was a capodecina until his murder in 1954 Pasquale Migliaccio was a capodecina Frank Balistrieri was a capodecina as well Frank Balistrieri (1962-time document was typed) appears he had no underboss Charles Zarcone would be consigliere if Balistrieri had one, Maniaci doesn't know if he actually was though John Alioto was a capodecina and had the older members in his crew Peter Balistrieri was a capodecina "who has active members under his direction" -Older members are displeased with Balistrieri for not consulting any members and making Joseph Gurera (Kansas City) a capodecina instead of a local member
-Older members blame Balistrieri for the publicity LCN is getting due to Anthony Biernat's murder also there's resentment because no one is making money
-Maniaci said he wouldn't be surprised if they killed Balistrieri one day
-On January 4th, 14th, and the 31st Balistrieri held parties at Gallagher's restaurant in an attempt to get the opposite faction to like him. He planned to have another similar meeting a month later. He also assured the members that jobs would soon open up and he gave Vito Aiello, John Aiello, and Maniaci himself jobs at gambling places.
-Balistrieri is very cautious in regards to his personal movements
-Another CI reported the meeting at Gallagher's was to fix the bad feelings between Myron Jennaro and Paul Bogosian who are both associates of the Milwaukee family
-the following is the structure according to Maniaci: capo: boss sottocapo: Italian not Sicilian term for underboss "consuleri": (see previous comment about spelling) the consigliere is the counselor who is usually an older member capodecina: heads a crew, means "head of ten", but members sometimes have 50 members in their crew (or in some cases zero members) No mention of soldiers
-the following are popular terms used by members: Amico Nostro: friend of ours; used by fellow members to indicate someones a member avugad: means lawyer, Maniaci said there's no significance as a term in Milwaukee, but it probably was just not for low level members. Normally the avugad is a representative on the commission. for example, Milwaukee's avugad would've been Chicago's boss cumpare: means godfather; used to show closeness to someone don: Italian term of respect, not a mafia term onorata: means honor, Maniaci said he's never heard the mafia called onorata society which many sources have reported omerta: Maniaci said it's to express any qualities in the word "manly" sagia: "chair, committee of boss, underboss, consuleri [sic], and capodecina [sic] Tourna: general meeting where all members attend; for an important reason
-the following are members of Milwaukee identified by Maniaci: John Aiello: made under Ferrara Vito Aiello: Made under Ferrara John Alioto: Made under Guardalabene, was boss then capodecina Albert Albana: Suspect in Biernat's murder and was made a month after in January 1963 Mike Albano: Runs Angelo's Pizzaria, long time member
III. Membership -John Alioto did not make any members, but Vallone, Ferrara, and Balistrieri did. (which must've happened when the books were closed either suggesting the midwest didn't follow this or he did it on the sly)
-To be made originally, you had to be Sicilian, but they switched it to just be full Italian
-Members don't have to kill, but this has been a rule in the past, to be made
-Associates are proposed by a made member who knows the associates potential. In the past, the name would go around to all members and if they objected, he couldn't be made
-the associate could cooperate with law enforcement to be made
-in the past, all members had to be present at the initiation ceremonies (Maniaci calls them "tourna" meaning a general membership meeting). They no longer do that though
-The Biernat murderers were alleged to be Steve DeSalvo, Dominic Principe, and Albert Albana. DeSalvo contacted Biernat before the killing
-during the making ceremony, both the proposed member and his sponser's fingers are pricked and their blood is mixed. Then everyone present joins hands and a picture of a saint is burned (presumably in the proposed members hand) and the proposed member takes an oath in Italian to put the organization over everything including family and religion
-Members must obey all orders under threat of death
-No members can deal drugs or they will be killed
-Members need permission before engaging in something that may affect another member
-In the past disputes between members were taken before the "Sagia" (This is also called the Seggia, consiglio, or the Sicilian term consignu)
-The "Sagia'' was composed of a boss, underboss, "consuleri", and the capodecina (the term "consuleri" suggests multiple consigliere, but the document has used the singular and plural terms interchangeably. traditionally, the consiglio had multiple consigliere though. Also "capodecina" suggests one captain, which wouldn't really make sense in the context so it can be assumed they mean all capidecina in the family)
-Balistrieri no longer consults anyone except Chicago and only for big issues
-Maniaci named the following as members of the LCN family in Milwaukee (these are just from memory): John Aiello: Made under Ferrara Vito Aiello: Made under Ferrara; John Aiello's brother John Alioto: Made under Vito Guardalabene; capodecina Albert Albana: Made in early 1964, after the murder of Anthony Biernat Mike Albano: Runs Angelo's Pizzaria; long time member Tony Albano: Mike's uncle; retired Frank Balistrieri: boss; made with John DiTrapani; in Joe Ferrara's crew?; Made capodecina under John Alioto Joseph Balistrieri: Frank's dad; longtime member Peter Balistrieri: Frank's brother; capodecina Joseph Caminiti: Secretary treasurer of Local 257; made in Chicago under Joe Aiello; came to Milwaukee during Aiello-Capone war; bootlegger during prohibition; capodeinca under Vallone and Ferrara; Balistrieri's closest confidant even closer to Frank than Peter; Married to John Alioto's daughter Harry DeAngelo: Ferrara didn't like him; made in 1963; works sanitation or garbage department; 55 years old Carl Di Maggio: long time soldier Salvatore DiMaggio: Carlo's son; burglar eith extesnive record; made under Ferrara Benny DeSalvo: Made in 1963; nephew of old Madison boss Benny DeSalvo who died in 1964; lived in New York for a while but moved back to Milwaukee and went into construction Steve DeSalvo: Close to Balistrieri; primary suspect in Biernat murder; made one month after the murder Sam Ferrara: former boss; operates liquor store; inactive Joseph Gumina; underboss and capodecina under Vallone, Ferrara, and Alioto; he was a boxer after coming to America; bootlegger and then worked at A.O. Smith corp.; capable of murder; his son married Ferrara's daughter August Maniaci: Long time soldier Santo Marino: Brother-in-law to Ferrara; not active; operates tevern Migele "Mike" Mineo: Made in chicago; came to Milwaukee during Aiello-Capone war; capodecina under Vallone, Ferrara, and Alioto; employed by Schlitz Brewery John Pernice: former bootlegger; unemployed; not known to hold leadership position Dominic Principe: Another Biernat murder suspect; made following murder; lives in Illinois Joe Rizzo: inactive; worked as bartender in multiple places Vito Seidita: inactive; 55 years old; works for city of Milwaukee, maybe in street department Joseph Spero: inactive; works for city of Milwaukee, maybe in garbage department Charles Zarcone: consigliere during Vallone, Ferrara, and Alioto; may be consigliere under Balistrieri, but Maniaci doesnt know
Maniaci also listed the following as members affiliated with other families that live in Milwaukee: Frank LaGalbo: runs Chico's restaurant; was supposed to be killed along with DiTrapani; transfered to Chicago under Frank LaPorte John DiBella: member from Italy; close to Joe Bonanno; head of Grande Cheese Company Ralph "bottles" Capone: Chicago member; no importance in the underworld James DiGeorge: operates stock farm; owns land in Adams county, Wisconsin; former capodecina of North Chicago; years ago he was supposed to be killed, but got a pass; lives in exile in Wisconsin (likely shelved)
-Maniaci said that even your immidiate family may not know your made and it's typical for people to keep their sons out of the mafia
Maniaci named the following as people not members of Milwaukee, but closely associated with Milwaukee: Walter "Walter Blackie" Brocca: worked forvarious businesses on behalf of Frank Balistrieri Tony Bruno: No member of Bruno's family has ever been a member Sam Cefalu: gambler; lives at 1606 North Jackson; employed by Balistrieri Sam Cefalu: lives at 3461 North Cramer; not related to the other Sam Cefalu; worked for Balistrieri in a gambling office Anthony "Sheriff Cefalu" Cefalu: Brother of Sam (doesnt say which one); employed as gambler Gus Chiaverotti: Working for Frank Balistrieri in Continental Music Co.; closely associates with Balistrieri Sam DaQuista: No other DaQuista family member has been connected Joe Dentice: No Dentice has been a member Dominic Frinzi: Lawyer for Milwaukee mafia Nick Fugarino: closely associates with LCN Ted Gagliano: Gambler Nick Gentile (Doesnt specify if its Nicola Gentile, the one who wrote a book): not a member, but associates with LCN Joseph Guarniere: not a member Dr. Vito Guardalabene: Son of former boss Pete; no living Guardalabene is a member of mafia Danny Lampone: No Lampones are made Tony LaRosa: associated with LCN, not member Sam Librizzi: Gambling LCN associate Tony and Tom Machi: gamblers John Mandella: not a member Vincent Mercurio: not a member John Percurio: creditor to Frank Balistrieri who he's related to Tom Piscitello: not a member John and Joe Piscuine: Gamblers; no Piscuine's have been members Bruno Ramazini: former operator of Holiday House Frank "Big foot Hogan" Sansone: gambler; runs a restaurant Joe Sardino: no other Sardino's are connected with LCN Tom Sorce: Gambler Frank Stelloh: Close to Frank Balistrieri and Steve DeSalvo; non Italian, so couldn't be made Nick Tarantino: "very close" and trusted by Frank Balistrieri; couldn't be made because he helped police in a burglary investigation, this was well known to LCN John Triliegi: LCN associate Sam Vermiglio: former head of a counterfeit cigarette stamp ring; deals drugs; murdered John Volpe: runs the Holiday house
-An informant, possibly Maniaci, advised in 1964 tht Frank Balistrieri has a share in William Covelli's gambling operation (CI doesnt say, but Covelli may have been made)
-Aforementioned informant said Balistrieri also has a share in John Rizzo's bookmaking operation. Al Albana is the one who brings the money from Rizzo and Covelli to Balistrieri
-Both Maniaci and another CI reported that Balistrieri, Rizzo, and Covelli thought about buting a Key Club in Park City, Illinois. Maniaci said that if Balistrieri was serious, he would have to talk to Chicago first since its their terretory
-On April 5, 1964 CI (aforementioned informant, probably not Maniaci) advised that he expected Buster Balestrere and Joe Gurera were expected to come back to Milwaukee before June of 1964. They are coming back to act as hosts in a big crap game. Nick Tarantino would be a treasurer in the game. Frank Balistrieri will own the game and Buster Balestrere will be pit boss and host. The reasoning for starting the game was it would make a lot of money and wouldn't violate a federal law.
-Sam Cefalu and Sam Librizzi run a gambling office recieving a line from out of state, this is the only out of state line. Sam Dentice is a runner for the operation. Anthony "Sheriff Cefalu" Cefalu used to be involved, but is inactive
-a CI advised that 70% of gamblers are represented by Dominic Frinzi. Frinzi has represented Anthony Cefalu, Charles Piscuine, Robert Pick, William Cole, Steve Halmo, and Harvey Wach
-A CI advised on March 7, 1964 members of "Chicago and Miami outfits" (maybe meaning Tampa) were trying to build a motel in the bahamas. Balistrieri was going to have a 5% interest in it
-A different CI advised that Giancana was interested in a casino at Cat Cay in the Bahamas.
-Ben Novac owned the Fountainbleu Hotel in Miami and was a close associate of Chicago and New York LCN. He applied for a license to operate a casino in the Bahamas in April of 1964 and was denied due to his financial ties to gangsters
-a CI (probably Maniaci) reported on April 3, 1964 that Balistrieri and former capodecina, but current soldier Joe Caminiti had a meeting where they discussed the Milwaukee Police Department (MPD). Balistrieri said he helped get cheif of police Harold Breter into office. Blaistrieri said he felt the MPD was trying to put heat on him by arresting young people who frequented Gallagher's restaurant and they surveilled LCN members. Balistrieri met with inspector Kremsreiter who was the number 3 man in the MPD. Kremsreiter and Balistrieri met at Fazio's and had lunch. At lunch, Balistrieri suggested that the MPD should stay away from his kind and that there are not enough police to be just focusing on him. Balistrieri told Caminiti that he was happy with how it went.
-Frank Ranney is a secretary-treasurer of Teamsters local 200 and is very close to Balistrieri even working together at Atomic Industries, a bubble gum company
-An informant advised on March 24, 1964 that Balistrieri, Frank Ranney, and Joe Caminiti met at Fazio's. The informant said Balistrieri had "some form of domination over Ranney"
-One CI stated that Balistrieri is connected to Jimmy Hoffa and could get a multi-million dollar loan to build a motel in Milwaukee.
-Tony Volpe is connected with Chicago and has access to the money from the welfare and pension fund of the teamster union in Chicago and that many Las Vegas casinos have been financed with the money.
-On April 3, 1964, a CI (or wiretap) reported that Joe Caminiti and Frank Balistrieri had a meeting where they discussed "the disposition of money supplied by the Teamsters to Frank Balistrieri for distribution to some of the candidates for Alderman in the City of Milwaukee." Caminiti told Balistrieri he'll advise the candidates that they are backed by the teamsters.
-During the same meeting Caminiti insuled Robert Kennedy saying he operated a gestapo. They also talked about a speech Congressman Alvin O'Konski gave talking good about Jimmy Hoffa. The Teamsters gave money to O'Konski and Senator Morse (ph) for political purposes
-Caminiti said Robert Kennedy infringes on civil liberties, this was after O'Konski told him about an investigation coming by the DOJ
-Caminiti also said that the Teamsters had trouble getting the poney to pay for Jimmy Hoffa's legal expenses. Out of 35 locals in Wisconsin, 20 wouldn't pass anything in support of paying. Because of this, they decided they would take the money out of the joint counsil, meaning every member will pay .05-.10 cents
-Joe Caminiti told Frank Balistrieri that Frank Ranney said to be careful giving money to Alderman Allen L. Calhoun. This was due to when Calhoun once moved districts, he came into conflict with Al Hass who was close to the Milwaukee LCN. Balistrieri already knew and met with Calhoun and told him that Hass is who they're most loyal too, but they will support whoever won. Balistrieri gave cash to Calhoun as an unreported donation
-Balistrieri gave a donation to Art Else, who's opponent was Henry Maier. Balistrieri gave Else the donation at Gallagher's restaurant.
-Angelo Provinzano was a member of the city service commission who was mobbed up. Balistrieri gave money to Provinzano who then donated money to mob backed candidates. Provinzano donated $995 to mayor Henry Maier. Provinzano also was used in the past to get Italians in positions in the city government and police department. Informant said Provinzano wasn't made
-On April 17, 1964, Dominic Frinzi (mob attorney) was going to run for governor and the mafia backed him. Frinzi himself wasn't confident he could win, but it would give him publicity which he could later use to become a judge
-Anthony Biernat was found buried in a cellar of an abandoned farm sprinkled with lime, but it wasn't the right kind which would disintegrate a body
-Frank Balistrieri partly owns The Pitch Specialty Co. Balistrieri's relative Peter Picciuro operated the business. His father John Picciuro also has a piece or co-owns it.
-Carl Dentice has a jukebox operation in his name for Frank Balistrieri
-Sam Dentice got a jukebox license under his name for Balistrieri
-Peter Sciotino's bakery was targeted in a bombing because of Balistrieri's shakedown campaign. Sciortino was personally connected to Joe Bonanno in some way and ended up not having to pay. Sciortino himself wasn't a LCN member
-Balistrieri's shakedown campaign began in the summer of 1962 with Joseph Gurera and Buster Balestrere shaking businessmen and gamblers down. Some people did resist so Balistrieri wanted to send a message. They were going to kill either Bill Cole or Bobby Pick, but when LE found out they stopped trying.
-An informant though Tony LaRosa might be killed because it was said the Milwaukee family heard he gave information to LE
-In may of 1964, an informant said that Steve DeSalvo and Frank Stelloh now operated as musclemen for Balistrieri. They even planned to murder someone who the informant didn't know.
-The informant thought the murder target may have been Izzy Tocco who was a booker for Sam Cefalu and got in trouble, but the informant thought that this would be too little a reason to murder someone
-A different informant supplied information suggesting the murder target may be Joe Beck. Beck was making complaints against the Continental Sales Co. Balistrieri made comments to the acting manager Gus Chiaverotti where he expressed his anger against Beck.
-An informant advised on April 10, 1964 that he heard a story about a Milwaukee gangster being offered $5,000 by the Chicago LCN "to make a hit" on a prominent businessman who was made. The reasoning was because the man owed the Chicago family between $18,000-$20,000. The man either stole the money or bet and lost the outfit's money