BARRY CALLAGHAN
man of letters
MEDIA: WRITER
PIANO PLAY
Al Rosenzweig was called Piano by his friends. He agreed to meet with me to eat a smoked meat sandwich at Switzer’s Deli. Piano was a big man who appeared affable because he was slow moving and because of his ample pink cheeks and jowls. I knew he was a killer. The police knew he was a killer. They couldn’t prove it but they knew that after the Maggadino family from Buffalo had tried to kill Maxie Baker outside the Towne Tavern so that the mob could take over the gambling that was controlled in Toronto by the Jews, Al had driven to Niagara Falls and had strangled two of Maggadino’s men with piano wire. But he was not known as Piano because of the wire. It was because he played the piano at a Bathurst Street high-rise social club for survucors of Shoah every Thursday night, where he liked to sing Irving Berlin and Cole Porter songs:
Let’s do it,
let’s fall in love
As I arrived at the table Piano was singing to himself.
He looked up and said, “Take a pew with a Jew.”
We ate our smoked meat sandwiches, and then I said to him, “Piano, I know business is business but we both know Solly Climans for a long time. He’s a good guy.”
“So he’s a good guy. I even knew his father, Fat, I booked his father’s bets, too, but he owes money, too much money.”
“I’m worried about him.”
“Why worry? If he pays, he’s good.”
“He’s beyond scared, Piano, he says he’s gonna commit suicide.”
“He ain’t gonna commit suicide.”
“I believe him.”
“You believe him?”
“Yeah, I believe him.”
“Jews don’t kill themselves.”
“Believe me, he’s gonna kill himself.”
Piano wiped his lips with his napkin.
Drumming his fingers on the table, he began to hum birds do it, bees do it, and then he said, reaching out to touch my hand, “Jews don’t kill themselves. They sometimes kill each other but, believe you me, they don’t kill themselves.”
He shrugged, as if I should have known we were helpless before a truth, a truth that allowed him his amiable consideration for me.
“Do yourself a favour,” he said, “try a little dessert, a cheesecake, it’ll look good on you.”