Max Fly Private I A Head Of The Game
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The name Milwaukee is believed to come from the Ojibwe word ominokwaiing, meaning gathering place, or gathering by the water. Milwaukee has at least three different nicknames. One is the Beer Capital of The World. This came about when most of the major brewers in America were located there and still produced beer.
Another name, Cream City, which comes from the color of the bricks that were used to make the buildings (there was also a Cream City Brewery) It is also known as the City of Neighborhoods and to this day it consists of many neighborhoods where they have their own churches, schools, restaurants and bars and the residents maintain a strong sense of belonging.
Another distinctive trait that you will find in Milwaukee is what is known as Polish flats. These are two family homes with separate entrances, but with the units stacked one on top of another instead of side by side. This arrangement enables a family of limited means to purchase both a home and a modestly priced rental apartment unit. Since Polish American immigrants to the area prized land ownership, this solution, which was prominent in their areas of settlement within the city, came to be associated with them.
Mader’s Restaurant in Milwaukee is famous for its German food and German art collection. It is worth the trip to Milwaukee just to go to Mader’s.
It is outside this city in a western suburb named Brookfield, where I grew up and spent my youth. There actually was a Judge’s Beyond The Reef in Brookfield on the corner of Calhoun Road and North Avenue. The history of this restaurant described in this novel is true to the best of my knowledge.
It is Rocco’s Pub, however, that I took the liberty to move to Milwaukee. It is Max Fly’s favorite hangout and is actually located in Jasper, Georgia. Even though Rocco’s doesn’t have a favorite booth back by the ladies room reserved for me, you can frequently find me there, enjoying great food and an occasional brandy and listening to fantastic bands pound out some of my favorite tunes .
Rocco’s chili has been voted the Best Chili in Georgia eight times and probably would have been nine or more but Dan Ciorrocco, the proprietor, decided to give the rest of the population a fair shot at the title and no longer enters the competition.
Most sane people will realize that this novel is pure bull turds and all the characters have to be fictional; although, I don’t suppose too many sane people would take the time to read more than this interesting introduction.
In no way have I intended to portray anyone living or dead, while telling this story. I have taken the liberty to use the names of individuals who have crossed my path over the years and made my life fuller.
I hope you enjoy reading this novel half as much as I enjoyed writing it.
David Hesse