I drive by Al Capone every day.

I have and interesting drive into work each morning.  As I travel out of my mostly middle-class suburb of Brookfield, Illinois, I go through many interesting places on my way to Lombard.  Each morning, usually before the sun is up, I am driving past many historical places.  I turn past one of the oldest Polish restaurants in the state.  I go over a bridge in which I can see the entire Chicago skyline.  If I am lucky and it is the right time of the year, I can even witness the sun rising over the skyline.  It is beautiful.  

As I turn past the suburb of Westchester on my way out of Cook County, things get somber.  I edge through a piece of Hillside, Illinois.  I travel between two massive cemeteries.  On my left is Queen of Heaven Catholic Cemetery.  On my right is Mt. Carmel Cemetery.  I always think about the people buried there.  Who were they?  What did they do?  

If you don’t know, a very famous gangster is buried in Mt. Carmel Cemetery.  

That person is Al Capone.  The Capone family burial site can be seen from the street.  Every morning I look over to the moderate sized family marker as I drive by.  I think about all the things I know about Capone.  I think about the movies and the portrayals of the famous gangster as a villain and a hero.  I have visited many places Capone frequented in his life.  I have been to Cicero where he lived.  I recently spoke in Hot Springs, Arkansas where I learned he visited often.  I even took the family to Alcatraz this past summer where he did some time in prison.

I’m not here to judge Al Capone. I am here to learn from him.   

Sparing all the details about the Capone story (you can learn that on your own) I found out he died when he was 47 years old.  I am 47 years old right now.  So I decided to actually stop and visit his grave on the way back from work.  I don’t really know what made me stop.  Perhaps it was that this is a place that many tourists are urged to check out.  I mean, I drive by it every day, shouldn’t I be a tourist in my own state?  Regardless of the reason, I found myself standing over the Capone family grave site.  

I haven’t been to a cemetery since I paid respects to my great uncle about 8 or so years ago.  It was a different feel here with Al Capone.  His gravestone was covered with flowers, a couple of fall trinkets and a half smoked cigar.  Obviously people were still visiting like I was and paying respects.  

I quietly said hi to Al Capone.

In my mind, I was thinking the entire time about what I would be remembered for.  I was thinking about how the man lying in the grave died at the same age as me.  I was thinking about my goals and aspirations in life.  It was sort of a mental clarity moment for me.  For me, I want to help as many people learn to become confident and to chase their dreams.  I want to help people find out how many great things they can do and learn in their life.  This is what I live for.  This is my why.  This is why I teach both in the system and outside of it.  I returned to my car with a clear mind.  

I quietly said goodbye to Al Capone and thanked him for the reminder that we need to help others while we are here on this earth.