Uncle Al

When my mother was a little girl there was one hotel in her city that had a public access swimming pool on the roof. On really hot days as a treat, my grandmother would take her and her little brother to swim there. One summer it was hot all the time so they frequently went for a swim. My grandmother became friendly with other mothers there, so while the kids played in the pool the women had a nice group chat.

Eventually my grandmother noticed mother was frequently coming back to check in while eating different kinds of candy she had not been given. When asked, the girl said ‘Uncle Al’ who was always at the pool gave out candy for all the kids. Curious, my grandmother asked to meet this Uncle Al and thank him (these were more innocent days, remember) for his kindness. Hand in hand they walked around the big pool until they were close to where Uncle Al and a bunch of his friends were sitting. Seeing him, my grandmother stopped, gaped, immediately whipped around and yanking my mother back to where their things were, she grab up the little brother, and zoomed them allout of there.

‘Uncle Al’ was the gangster Al Capone who was well known (among other things) for his love of children.

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