So, here it is... my requisite Thanksgiving Day post. Yes, as you might imagine, Thanksgiving Day sucked at my house. Sometimes we got to go over to my grandmother's house, and it wasn't bad then. My father hated turkey. He thought it was too dry. So...

When I was a kid, I used to snoop at other people's houses. I mean, super-snoop! I would ask to go to the bathroom, and then I would look through all of the cabinets-- not just the medicine cabinet, but also the vanity cabinets and any bedroom drawers...

We were not allowed to drink any soda while I was growing up. No soda, no sugary cereals. No candy, except for special occasions. It was usually water, but milk or juice were allowed. I had been diagnosed with hyperactivity disorder, which was pretty...

This week, I went to a Portuguese dinner at a Portuguese hall. The hall had a requisite shrine inside, right next to the bar. Little votive candles were lit in front of the statues of the Virgin Mary. People would come in, kneel before the Virgin, say...

This is the story of the accordion dollars. Every single word of it is true, I swear on the Virgin herself. I witnessed every bit of this firsthand. I hope you have a strong stomach. When I graduated from college, I moved up North in order to go a...