I went hunting today – inside my house

I woke up to the sounds of cat barfing. This means snapping on all the lights and going on a scavenger hunt. Wee! Fun times! Sometimes Freddie likes to hide it by puking inside one of my floor heat registers. That would be great if it came with a flushing mechanism. Instead I have to …

Writing For Ellery Queen

I always knew I wanted to write, just didn't know how. Still don't. I mean how do you write about a conversation with an imaginary person and act like you've known them for years? Or worse, like you're an old married couple? How in the world am I supposed to know how a woman would …

Aunt Jennie

After my paternal grandmother's death, it left just my aunt Jennie alone in that big old house. She was the oldest of nine children. The only one born in Italy who came with my grandmother to Ellis Island, New York at the age of four in 1911. She was originally named Vincenta, but like a …

My Grandfather Carmelo

I never knew my paternal grandfather. He died 9 years before I was born at the age of 65. Never sick a day until a blood clot situated itself on his lung and took him quickly. He was alone in his bed. What I know about him were the stories I heard and the research …

Adventures Of A Stock Boy

Years ago when I young and stupid, I worked as a stock boy in a large grocery store. My job involved unloading pallets of food in the back room and stocking them on the shelves. I got to know the rear of the store really well. But the merchandise in the front, like greeting cards …

To A Place I’ve Never Been

I'm taking the old A train out of Grand Central Station. It doesn't run much anymore Special Trips and One Way only. My bag is already packed A few clothes and a Bible but I can't find my comb. Do I really need it with hair that's fashionably clipped? I remember my school years where …