With Help From Michael O'leary

Chapter 46 The Legacy of Archangel Michael

Michael's bank flourished and he prospered personally and financially as well as emotionally, spiritually, and intellectually. When he prospered so did his community of South Boston because, unlike other patron saints of the people who helped their neighborhoods only because they grew up there and leaving when they made their successes, Michael remained there, living and working in the community that he helped to thrive. At all hours of the day, you could always find Michael sitting in his office behind his desk or walking the floor of his bank greeting customers and/or listening to their comments and/or complaints. In growing and managing his 35 million dollar investment, the money he had received from Little Ralphie, he had amassed a personal fortune of nearly 3 billion dollars. Even after amassing that kind of wealth, he was just as unpretentious, good, and kind now as he was when he was studying priesthood in the seminary.

There were many communities seeking the same limited resources from the state and federal government but few of those communities had someone in the scope, influence, and power of Michael O'Leary, who could help shine a spotlight of attention on South Boston and direct the funds he needed to help his cause. As far as his personal fortune, he looked upon his wealth as a means to an end. He constructively used his money, power, and influence, to help direct city, state, and federal monies that he needed to augment other monies and to support his causes by helping to fund the building of schools and hospitals, police and fire stations, and community centers and playgrounds in his neighborhood. After all, whatever he did within the community of South Boston benefited not only the state in reducing crime and unemployment but also the federal government by helping the economy and developing solid citizens for the future.

Michael was a big believer in applying for grant money from the state and federal government. Each year, as are college scholarships for individuals, grant money is made available to private individuals from the city, state, and federal government, and to cities from the state and the federal government, as well as to the state, from the federal government. Each year, hundreds of millions of dollars in available grant money goes unclaimed, mainly, because the grants are not advertised and/or marketed in such a way that makes it easy to find. It is up to you, the individual, or you the town, city, or state to discover them and apply for them. It is up to you to wade through the paperwork tied tightly in red tape and to persevere through the process. It is up to you to state your case, why you should receive the grant money hoping that they approve you and not someone else going through the similar process. Michael, with his network of consultants and grant writers, was very successful with this process in not only finding available grant money but also successfully applying for it and winning it. That, along with his influence, encouraged and enabled additional monies received from legislation written on behalf of his community. Michael had quite the political machine working behind the scenes to land the big bucks.

Additional monies pouring in to his small community meant more, higher paying jobs that further boosted his local community. The lifestyle of South Boston, suddenly, took a giant jump up the success ladder. Before Michael, the average median income for a South Boston resident was approximately, $35,000 per year. Now, with the help of Michael O'Leary, the average median income for a South Boston resident jumped significantly, to nearly $60,000 per year. That increase allowed people to buy the things that they needed, such as a new car, a new home, to send their children to college, and/or to plan their retirement. Certainly, because of Michael O'Leary, life in South Boston was good. Now, because Dad was able to earn a good living, Mom could afford to stay home with the kids or only take a part-time job, which translated to better family development. All of the hard work that Michael put forth, over 30 years, helped to lay the groundwork that contributed to the cycle of success.

His personal favorite projects to fund were community centers and playgrounds. He had three separate and distinct community centers, one specifically for children, one specifically for families, and one specifically for the elderly. With three of each type of community centers conveniently sprinkled throughout South Boston, for a total of nine community centers, they all had his name prominently displayed, Michael O'Leary's Community Center for Children, Michael O'Leary's Community Center for Families, and Michael O'Leary's Community Center for the Elderly. He viewed children as the most malleable and moldable and those who he could make the most impression with to make changes in their personal makeup that would last a lifetime. This, on the children, is where he spent much of his time, money, and energy.

"Get them while they are young," he always said, "before they develop the stubborn nonsense and unfounded opinions that they carry with them throughout the rest of their lives."

The one thing that you would not find at the children's community center was boredom. At the children's community center, children could play board games or table tennis or play basketball at the indoor and outdoor basketball courts. They also could sign up for woodworking, sheet metal, cooking, model airplane, ship, and car building, and/or arts and crafts classes, as well as Cub Scouts or Brownies and Boy Scouts or Girl Scouts and Explorers. There was summer camp, Christmas parties, and family outings. Everything was free, paid for by the donations of community businesses, with Michael personally picking up the shortfall tab. There were few fights in the children centers because if you fought, both combatants, depending upon the severity, were barred for a day, a week or a month from attending the center. No one wanted to get barred because if you were barred, there was no one to play with, as all the other kids were playing in the community center. Being barred from a community center was worse than being suspended from school. Generally, once a child was barred, even for a day, they never behaved badly, again, while on the community center premises. Further, they encouraged other children to change their bad behavior for fear that the directors of the center would misidentify them as troublemakers and include them when barring others.

The family community centers were, chiefly, there to disseminate information, to help families find information on important issues, and to advise them where and how to get further help from state and federal government agencies. Basically, this community center, as was the elder community center was primarily used to untie the endless knots of red tape that dissuaded most from even attempting to find the information that they needed. Whether it was birth control, finding after school care, seeking information on health care issues, or counseling on parenting and/or marriages in helping couples to stay together as a family, Michael's family community centers were there to help families through difficult periods.

Additionally, the family centers all had pool and ping pong tables, as well as a huge fireplace with comfortable chairs for those who wanted to hang out and read and a giant screen television for those who wanted to watch a sporting event with neighbors instead of having to trek down to the local bar or tavern and drink beer to watch a giant screen television. It was a place for families to come together to socialize. Now, in this neighborhood of South Boston, there was no excuse for not knowing your neighbor.

In his Elder Care Centers, he offered hot meals, emergency medical assistance and referrals, cool day trips or just a place to go to hang out with their peers and talk. Again, this was the place to come to when needing to find information on social security, health care, nursing homes, visiting nurses, meals on wheels program, or any topics important to the elderly. More than that, the counselors who worked there would make the telephone calls to the state and federal agencies on behalf of the elderly. They had a game room with a pool and ping pong table, as well as, a shuffleboard court, board games, and card games for those who wanted to pass their time of day, that way. No longer were elderly citizens shut in their homes and shut out of the happenings of the neighborhood. Now, they were an integral part of the daily events with announcements of neighborhood happenings such as deaths, births, and graduations, along with notices of meetings, events, swap meets, and tag sales posted on the large bulletin board when first entering the center.

All of his community centers had exercise rooms. No matter if you were 9 or 90, Michael believed that there was no excuse not to exercise. If only he had taken his own advice, though, as he had stopped his regimen of exercise, mainly walking, once he married Gabriella with her delicious Italian cooking and with him working long hours required to grow his expanding empire, now, he was rather portly. Later was always his answer when it came to making the time to exercise. Yet, Gabriella had hired a personal trainer to follow Michael around to help change his eating habits and to make him find the time to exercise, even if it meant going for a walk while he talked on his cell phone. At least, now, he had an interested party, albeit his personal trainer, to walk with him.

His walks around the neighborhood were not much of a routine in exercise as it was an event in socialization. No matter where he walked, people would come out of their homes to greet him, invite him in their homes, pay their respects, thank him, and give him baked goods. It was apparent that if he was to take exercising seriously, he could not do it by walking his streets. He would have to work out in his personal gym, which the personal trainer was happy to help give his suggestions for the construction of it. Still, it meant that Michael had to make the time each day and maintain the commitment to exercise. Even though he was winding down his career in the hopes of retiring soon, it was still impossible to find the time to exercise.

In addition to his community centers, he still offered classes at his bank for those who wanted to learn how to use a computer, how to navigate the Internet, how to develop their own web page, how to use specific software, how to balance their checkbooks, how to research investments for retirement, or even something as complex as helping them with their taxes, filling out college financial aid forms or how to write a business plan to get a small business loan to start their own business or to help fund the business that they have now. His classes were always full and his classes were as much as a social center as they were an educational center.

He helped to build playgrounds for kids of all ages to play. Because of Michael's intervention, South Boston had six very large playgrounds complete with swings, slides, jungle gyms, baseball and soccer fields, basketball and tennis courts, and swimming pools. You did not find children hanging around on the corners with nothing to do anymore in South Boston. Now, they were either participating in organized sports or involved in the children's community centers or both. Further, even those kids who grew up in little league and in Pop Warner, now that they were older, studying in college or working in the business world and were married with their own children, gave of themselves with their time and energy, as volunteers and/or as coaches to help children, as they were helped by others. It was a remarkable experiment and a living experience in humanity.

Teachers attributed the sudden and dramatic decrease in truancy and the increase in better grades to Michael's children's community centers and the family focus that Michael encouraged in everything that he did. Suddenly, a higher percentage of children were graduating from high school instead of dropping out. Suddenly, the MCAS tests were no longer a concentrated issue but an expected reality that, truly, no child in South Boston was left behind in education and in being educated. Moreover, every child knew that if they wanted to attend college or a vocational school to learn a trade, Michael would personally make it happen. Michael's staff was able to find, apply for, and win obscure college scholarships that would otherwise go unclaimed to help fund the education of hundreds of South Boston residents.

For the first time, children felt as much part of their community as did their parents. For the first time, community pride was more than just bragging about territorial turf, it was those who lived in the community being proud to be part of the community. For the first time, the community came together as a whole. Even something as simple as litter was reduced. Now, people who saw litter on their sidewalks would stoop to pick it up and throw it in one of the hundreds of wastebaskets that dotted the neighborhood sidewalks. No longer did pet waste decorate the sidewalks. Owners were responsible for disposing of their own pets' waste or they would feel the vocal indignation and wrath of their neighborhood.

Now, his neighborhood, once, a neighborhood with one of the highest unemployment rates in the state, was now the lowest. Crime, especially violent crime, was a thing of the past, assaults, robberies, rapes, and murders were all dramatically reduced. Even drugs and prostitution declined because there was not the hopelessness and despair that pervaded the community before. State and federal funds, earmarked before to other neighborhoods, were now a regular addition to the fiscal budget of South Boston. As violent crimes decreased, property values increased and more people wanted to work, live, and thrive in South Boston. It was a downhill snowball positive effect that mushroomed in a win/win situation for everyone whether it was as a resident, business owner or elected municipal employee.

With new lighting, more police, and good paying jobs with benefits for all who wanted to work, South Boston was seeing good times, thanks to Michael O'Leary. Unlike the politicians in power, he asked for nothing in return other than for those of his neighborhood to live, work, and to thrive in peace and harmony. Unlike others who used their great wealth, influence, and power to make a name for themselves hoping to elevate them and highlight their political aspirations to the national spotlight for a campaign to run as governor, senator, or president, Michael had no hidden agenda, political aspirations or ideas of grandeur. He only wanted to help the Irish people who lived in South Boston hoping to make a better life for those poor Irish immigrants who came to this country with nothing but hope in their hearts. Now, instead of passing one another by on the streets, people greeted one another with a smiling, "Hello, how are you, today?"

It was nearly an utopian community, a working experiment of what can happen when you give people the opportunities to earn a good living and to help them when they need help and when they ask for it. It was an experience in the community working together as a whole that was validated by the obvious and proven success that if it can work here, it can work anywhere.

Now, instead of people lining up with their hand out, as they did in the beginning when Michael first publicized his desire to open a neighborhood bank, albeit with the help from Michael O'Leary in finding employment, subsidizing their job training and/or education, people were taking control of their lives. Now, the residents of South Boston saw the reality of changes for the good and saw real hope that, one day, they too could afford a home or could have their children continue their education after high school or could afford to retire without worrying about money.

Personally, he donated to the church and various civic organizations, charities, and causes that caught his interest over the years. His favorite thing to do was when reading some tragedy in the newspaper, a story that tugged at his heart; he would arrange to anonymously take care of a medical bill, a funeral expense or anything that his enormous wealth could help to lighten the load of the people who suddenly found them suffering in hopelessness and despair. He very much enjoyed playing, Archangel Michael, the angel of mercy helping people through their darkest hours.

Michael the Archangel of careers, courage, achievements, ambitions, motivation, and life tasks, was the angel who helped his people. Archangel Michael's colors of orange, gold, and white are the same colors as orange for his orange hair, gold for all the money he amassed to help his people, and white for the purity of his spirit. Now, truly, everyone who knew Michael loved him. They referred to him as Saint Michael.

On the occasion of his 60th birthday, in a surprise ceremony, the city erected a statue of him in the middle of the square. The statue was of him standing beside a huge pot of gold and passing it out to everyone. Although, Michael first took offense at him being symbolized as a Leprechaun, even though his likeness looked nothing like a Leprechaun, he grew to love the statue that depicted his generosity to those less fortunate.

Just as the Mafia, in their twisted sense of community spirit begot illicit monies through crime to help the Italians grow and prosper, albeit with a price as selling your soul to the devil, Michael through his good and sincere intentions helped the Irish people help themselves with no strings attached. He showed them the way to take control of their destiny, so as to improve their lot. Whether it be putting out money to help them receive the job training they required and to get the job they wanted or pay for the college education for the children, so that their futures were markedly brighter with opportunities than their parents, or giving them somewhere to go to pass their free time instead of sitting in a bar and drinking beer after beer until they were numb and unable to do anything but pass out. Michael gave them viable alternatives.

Sure, there were still those unduly proud and/or densely ignorant sort who refused the help of any and all of Michael's organizations and attempts to improve their lives, those were the ones who were unemployed, collected welfare, and drank at the bars until they passed out and were arrested for public intoxication and drunk driving. Those were the ones who muddled through life making the same mistakes over and again and never getting ahead. Those were the ones who, finally, came to him with hat in hand asking for his help when it was too late to make a significant change in their lives.

Yet, with all of the opportunities that was available to them now, the ones who refused his help were fewer and far between. Now, with the upscale improvements that transformed the neighborhood of South Boston, bars and taverns gave way to sports bars and nightclubs where families could come together have a drink, relax, and meet other families, who had the same need for relaxation of socialization. The difference was, instead of solitary men going out to get drunk; families went out to have a good time. Deemed a safe community, more people from other neighbors frequented the shops and restaurants of South Boston taking back with them to their neighborhoods the dream that, one day, their neighborhood could be like that.

He helped a lot of people and his generosity spilled over into a free flowing fountain that overflowed to not only the residents of his community but also to the residents of other communities. His philosophy of good karma begetting good karma reached out to and washed over those who would never think of helping anyone else but themselves, until someone helped them. Now, those who were enriched with Michael's spirit of kindness and generosity reached out to help total strangers for no reward in return other than to realize the good feelings that they received from helping someone in need.