Italian American

The Assistant Formally Known As Gina

When I look back at my blog posts, there's one from November 2021 that describes my experience visiting The Stanley Theatre to see The...

Tommy's Tales: The Grudge

There were a bunch of Italian families on my block when I was growing up, including my own. My grandfather was friends with the...

Panic At The Drive-Thru

I always become very anxious whenever I have to order something at a fast food restaurant. The root of this lies in an experience we had...

Panettone: Ten Things You Can Do with That Delicious Bread-Cake Thing

Italian or not, you have no doubt been in a store recently and seen displays full of red or yellow boxes containing this seasons most...

Open Windows Unlimited

The Original Wireless Network Italians are a group of very passionate, vocal people, and by vocal, I mean loud. Myself included. If...

Household Saints

Just like many other Italian-Americans out there, I was raised according to the belief system of the Roman Catholic Church. Apparently,...

My Grandmother's Sofa

My mother's parents, Marion & Gaetano (Tommy, for short) lived in the apartment upstairs from us. I spent a lot of time up there as a...

When Cleaning Gets Heated

Cleaning is serious business in the life of an Italian.

Introducing Mr. Buonomo

This time of year is great for so many reasons. It's officially autumn and foliage is absolutely beautiful. The weather is crisp and...

Tommy's Tales: Smokin' Tanks

My grandfather smoked like a chimney all his life. There came a time when all the smoking started to catch up with him. He was short of...

Downtown Utica Weekend

This past weekend I had some very much needed time away. I didn't go to the Catskills or Vermont or a spa. I went to Utica. Right about...

Tommy's Tales: Grandpa Goes Mobile

Despite his health trouble and need for an oxygen tank, Grandpa did his best to travel somewhere each and every day. He had a few key...

The Great Wait

Have you ever known somebody who's aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaalways late for things? A person who you have to lie to about the...

The Haircut From Hell

When I think about my childhood and images that are literally burned into my brain, the first one that comes to mind is the one of my...

Tommy's Tales: Chasing Cadillacs

My grandfather was a character. You could always find him in a crowd. All you had to do was look for the largest group of people and...