Just the other day I noticed the first season of ”The Untouchables” TV show is out in a DVD boxed set. I don’t remember when it was first aired, partly because I was so young and also because the series was taken off the air in Cleveland for a time because it offended certain ethnic groups. That was odd considering that Eliot Ness was the city’s public safety director for a time. But I sure ate up those episodes in reruns!
I learned more from my grandfather than I ever could from a textbook, and he was no fan of Ness. He claimed Ness ruined the city police force because he put two-way radios in patrol cars. His theory was that cops used to walk a beat, had lunch or dinner in the local “beer joint”, and knew everyone in the neighborhood by their first name. If Mrs. Shafronic’s kid broke your window, the cop would grab the kid by the ear, drag him home and make sure the window got fixed. No charges were filed and everyone went on with their business. But my grandfather claimed putting cops in patrol cars gave them more ground to cover and the crime rate actually increased! I don’t know if statistics would actually bear him out.
At any rate, it also made me recall that about ten years ago I was at Eliot Ness’ funeral! Ness died almost fifty years ago, but his ashes sat in a box for years. Then one of his wives and his son joined him in the after life and their ashes sat around as well. It came to the attention of some local Ness fans, and they arranged for Ness and the family’s ashes to be interred in a full police ceremony at Lakeview Cemetery. Bagpipes, people crying, the whole bit.
Here’s the point (and yes I do have one.) I’m looking forward to seeing this box set and the seasons that follow. I don’t think my grandfather would have cared for them.
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