Keeping up with the Sopranos

Tony Soprano! Everyone's favorite Jersey mob boss and proud parent. Or at least he tries to be.
It's quite heartbreaking watching the Sopranos and thinking when will Tony get a break? You'd think being the head of a mob is rewarding work. Although, it is quite rewarding, there are many drawbacks to this lifestyle, at least in Tony's case. As he juggles the life of a boss of an Italian extortion organization in one hand and maintaining a happy home in the other, I wouldn't blame him if he actually wanted to be a waste management consultant.
Making his living off-the-books doing what he does, you'd think it'd be easy working from your cell-phone. But just like any ordinary hard-working American, Tony Soprano checks-in to work and thats it, this line of work doesn't stop for him. For anyone expecting the life of Mr. Soprano to be sitting behind a neatly polished oakwood desk, lighting the finest of cigars, while snickering in an old-raspy voice needs to realize its not the 1940's anymore. This is actually what makes watching the Sopranos interesting. Its almost as if we as viewers are watching the life of Italian mobster(s) in modern day. Similar to a reality TV show.
We are always tuned in to Tony Soprano. We follow him to his therapist, where he spills his guts in resentment. We follow him to the work place, where we watch him chop it up with Sil and lose his mind over Pauly and Chrissy's periodic incompetence. We follow him home where we watch him slowly become distant with his wife Carmela, while trying to become an understandable father figure to his children Meadow and Anthony Jr.
I think that the Sopranos is actually healthy for it's audience. It teaches and displays the change of the Italian mob culture from the early 1900's to the 21st century. This breaks stereotypes and shows how organized crime has evolved and changed in a way where it can blend with it's time. It also teaches that the mob doesn't deal with drugs as a form of income either, unlike most illegal organizations. Tony Soprano keeps a more traditional method of making money, through, extortion! Very few bodies arise, maybe someone with cuts and bruises and maybe some missing teeth. But nothing that would draw too much attention and nothing that he couldn't handle. On top of that, who is going to tell on you when you're known for controlling a body of men that'll bring nothing less than brute force to your fine establishment, whether it be for a business partnership conference or filing an insurance claim to your private firm. Its nothing like being a good neighbor for Tony. Even if the feds did catch on, one could only imagine the circles Tony would have the FBI running in just to catch a case. If its one thing Tony taught me, its that if the FBI start getting wise in your home just say the magic word and they will disappear, warrant!  
When you look at it, sometimes being an outlaw isn't so different after all. Then again, who would pass up the opportunity to evade taxes and banks? None the less, we can't look at Tony Soprano any differently from any one else.
I must admit, I will always miss riding on the New Jersey turnpike with Mr. Soprano, with the blue moon in his eyes.