Wednesday, September 18, 2013

LTGTTC.

"Leave the gun, Take the Cannoli"


I'm gonna keep this one short & sweet. 

I could do a whole series on the trillness of Godfather quotes. But I decided to stop here at the words of Peter Clemenza. He receives orders to dispense of Paulie Gatto, because Gatto got in bed with the Tattaglia family, and was partially responsible for the near fatal shooting of the Don (betrayal). Clemenza and Lampone ride around with dude for a few days, to keep his guard down, make him feel like he's still part of the family. On a way out road, with billowing wheat, he and Lampone get to the moment of truth. Gatto's time to go is now. Clemenza steps out to take a leak. And after the job is done, he says without flinching, those 6 words. 

On everybody's team there is that one person that you can count on to get things done. Male or female, that person is the person, not always able to be the leader, but is any great leader's best asset. The best man. The maid of honor. The person who makes sure whatever needs to happen happens. Clemenza trained the best of the best, and dispensed of those who didn't want to do right with no issue.  He was the one helping Vito carry the carpet, in Godfather II. He's the one who taught Michael to use the gun for the restaurant scene. Everybody needs someone like that. 

What this quote shows, is his ability to think about many things at one time. Day to Day strategy. Virtually all of these men had families at home. Before he left on that last car ride with Gatto and Lampone (if I remember the movie right) his wife had asked him to pick up some cannoli before he came home. In the middle of their grand plan, he doles out proper get-away instructions, and gets the cannoli. 

Happy Wife, Happy Life. It's also pretty nice if you can follow an order without getting the family bumped off.  

The totality of his actions in the story, and this moment of calm, clear-headed thinking show just who the guy is. He said it like it was just another day on the job. That's why it was so cool to me. He just said it and moved on. No mourning, no anger, just business, justice for the Don. 

The only thing that sucks about this scene is that there was no hand-sanitizer for his post piss adventures. I didn't see him wash his hands...

*sigh*


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