Best Christmas Tip Ever
The Maundy Monday Newsletter - This Week in History December 23 - 29.
What would you say is the best Christmas gift you ever received?
I remember around 7 or 8, my older brother put a huge box under the tree with my name on it. It was almost as tall as I was at the time. I couldn’t wait to open it, and when I did, I found that he had stuffed the box with smaller boxes. It took some time to discover all the boxes as I rifled through the newspapers. It was tough work- I think I broke a sweat.
Eventually, I found a toy helicopter that didn’t actually fly, along with other toy soldiers. It was a fun gift. But I mostly remember it as being a little disappointing. I don’t know what I expected, but it wasn’t an expedition of labor.
Years later, I returned the favor, wrapped up a Jameson bottle, and gave it to my brother. When my mother saw our exchange, she asked if I had given my brother alcohol for Christmas.
Yes, Ma. Yes, I did.
We all remember where we were and what we did when we discovered that video game console, the pony we always wanted, or the Lexus parked in the driveway with a bow on top. It’s not so much that these gifts give us joy as they are about our human connection with each other. Nothing can replace what one person can do for another.
In April 1994, a joint task force of the Drug Enforcement Agency, Boston Police, and the Massachusetts State Police launched an investigation into the illegal gambling operations of Irish American mobster Whitely Bulger. Bulger was the head of the Winter Hill Gang, which sounds like a 1980s rap group.
Bulger and his Hip-Hop brigade terrorized Boston for years. Nothing ever stuck to the guy with white hair and a mean streak. It was like he had someone working for law enforcement. My mother would likely ask if Bulger had help from law enforcement.
Yes, Ma. Yes, he did.
John Connolly was another Irish American who grew up in the same housing projects as the Bulgers, befriending Whitey and his brother at an early age. Connolly would eventually become an agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation and use his skills to turn Bulger into an informant for the government.
Only Bulger used the government to help eliminate his enemies. Like a tall package under the Christmas tree, what was inside was completely different. The more government dug into Connolly’s and Bulger’s relationship, the more concerned they became.
On December 23, 1994, sealed indictments from the Department of Justice were in hand, and the FBI would be spending the holiday season arresting everyone associated with the Winter Hill Gang. Before they got started, Connolly delivered the best Christmas ever to Whitey by tipping him off, allowing Whitey to flee.
Whitey Bulger would spend the next sixteen years as a fugitive, eventually getting caught on June 22, 2011, in California. He was extradited to Massachusetts and charged with 48 counts, including 19 murders. He was convicted in 2013 and sentenced to two life terms plus five years in case he came back from the dead twice.
Bulger died in prison in 2018 at the age of 89 due to poor health. One thing I found funny was he developed a lousy hip because he kept falling out of bed. How do you keep falling out of bed?
For his betrayal, John Connolly was arrested in 1999, convicted of murder in 2008, and sentenced to 40 years in prison. He was paroled in 2021 and, to this day, still receives pension benefits from his time as an agent.
Last summer, I gave you sound advice about watching the movie Black Mass, which is based on the book of the same name about Bulger’s life. In case you haven't, check it out over the holidays.
Okay, let's highlight what else happened this week. As a reminder, these events celebrate their anniversary, ending in 5 or 0. Here's what I got:
1. Eddie Veder was born on December 23, 1964. The lead singer for the grunge band Pearl Jam, is a third-generation Eddie Vedder, which is crazy considering he grew up thinking his stepfather was his biological dad. His confusion inspired the song “Alive,” which I used to play at the college bar at the end of the night, hoping to impress the ladies with my air guitar abilities.
2. The War of 1812 ended on December 24, 1814. The Treaty of Ghent, a city in Belgium known for its waffles, was signed on both sides, effectively ending the War with England Part II. Who won? Nobody knows. But Spain somehow lost territory in North America. Merry Christmas, Spain.
3. William Semple patented chewing gum on December 28, 1869. The Ohio native raced to patent the idea that chewing gum was made with rubber, even though it had been sold in the country since 1848. However, two years later, a guy named Thomas Adams patented a recipe that became Chitlets. Adams also invented the first machine to mass produce the stuff, which now is about a $2 billion-a-year industry.
Anonymous, Blue, and I wish you and your family a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanza, and especially St. Stephen’s Day this week.
This is a special time to spend with family and friends. This is the time of year when light enters darkness, and your fantasy football team flames out.
The best gift I receive is your support and reading my mediocre takes on US History. I’m grateful to you all, but mostly, I’m grateful that I haven’t played fantasy football in about a decade. I was terrible.
I’ll be back on Friday with my State of Okay History essay. I think I did one last year, but if not, I’m starting the tradition.
Have a great week!
Okay,
Chris
Eddie Vedder is my rock and roll hero, and Alive is one of my all time favorite songs. As you noted, the first verse is about not knowing who his dad really was until his dad had passed away, The second verse is about incest… he hasn’t confirmed it’s autobiographical and he’s the victim, but that’s broadly assumed.
I saw him do an interview years ago in which he said the crowd’s reaction to Alive has turned it from a song about his shame and angst into an anthem of survival and hope… if he’s still alive after all of that, then he can endure anything life throws at him.
He’s a great man, that’s a great song, and his is an inspiring life story. HBD, EdVedd.