Giant of Philadelphia - Judge Edward Becker

A Philadelphia Giant
…Who Never Got Too Big for his Britches
…And Never Forgot Where He Came From…

Copyright Carbill Enterprises, L.L.C. 2006

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He was that guy who looked you in the eye and smiled as he sat down next to you on the el. Nothing special about him - not so as you would notice. Rode the el everyday wearing the same run of the mill cloth coat and funny looking hat. You think to yourself - in life there are show horses and work horses - this guy ain't no show horse.

Kind of old fashioned, you'd seen him offer a lady his seat when the el was standing room only. Friendly and quick with a joke if spoken to but pretty much kept to himself. Spent most of the ride reading and oh yea, if you listened hard enough, you'd swear he was humming or whistling under his breath. Pretty good ear for music.

The guy was like clock work - but he's not in his seat today. The conductor tells you, after thirty years, just like that - he won't be riding this el anymore. Something about him made you feel like you knew him, but you really didn't. So, who was that guy ?

His name was "Eddie" Becker. You come to find out that none other than Senator Arlen Specter describes him as "one of America's most respected and admired judges and one of the greatest Philadelphians in our city's history." You ask yourself - 'who, that guy?' He seemed like just an everyday guy. He certainly didn't act like a bigshot.

That's why he's a "Giant" of Philadelphia.

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