Why This Non-Smoker Carries a Lighter
Recently, a friend who read my first book told me, “Al, I feel that you are the type of person who listens to the universe.”
It’s true, I listen to the universe. Either the universe, or intuition, or God, but I take notice.
A Christmas Carol II: Ebenezer's Revenge
Scrooge was better than his word …
Christmas Stories Over the Years
A collection of Christmas stories over the years from Conflict and Scotch
In the Name of the Father
It is no secret that I absolutely hate my name.
The irony of that is, it should not have been my name at all. It should have been my brother’s name.
Why?
It’s an Italian thing.
Don’t Look a Gift Car in the Mouth
They always say, ‘Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth’.
And I didn’t.
I did, however, look under the hood.
A Very Inappropriate Movie Night
I love movies, always have, always will.
A Very Black Friday
Why you should never drive with dogs, even if they have their license.
The Last Supper (No, Not That One)
I loved getting together with family, seeing my Grandmother, my Aunts and Uncles and especially my cousins, but when it came to the food, I was terrible.
I was an adopted loaf of white bread in a family of exquisite pastries.
How I Got Here
I don’t know a lot about my parents before I showed up; their generation was not as chatty as mine. After all, I have a blog where I write about every single stupid drunken thing I have ever done in my life—before, during, and after my marriage.
When God Is (Literally) On Your Side
When my kids were young, they all went to Catholic School—Amanda through eighth grade, Alexander through fifth, and Danny through fourth.
The Day I Died Down The Jersey Shore
In the late seventies and early eighties, my friends and I spent summers down the Jersey Shore. It was different each time: sometimes a week, or weeks, or a month, or the full summer in houses that were just steps or blocks from the beach.
My Dating Profile
Hi, my name is Al, I’m a Scorpio, and people tell me I’m fun at parties.
A Bouncer, Beers, and a Belmar Bar Hop
I’ve been in a lot of bars in my life (oh, stop bragging, Al) and even worked in a few of them. The best bar I’ve ever went to and worked at was Mary’s Husband’s Pub in Belmar, NJ. Now if you think working at a bar that you loved would be fun…
...you’d be wrong.
The House That Haunted Me
When the kids came along to have a house filled with Halloween decorations was appropriate. The trick-or-treaters that ventured up our walkway were assaulted by various forms of zombies and ghouls that reached from the grave to take hold of the little princesses and cowboys in search of candy.
The Most Eventful Weekend of My Life
A weekend that changed my life. A house, a honeymoon, and a hell of a way to celebrate a birthday I almost forgot.
Spoiler Alert: Hitler
A family wedding, would be mobsters, and what really happened during World War One?
We may never know.
Ten-Nine-Eight-Seven
A marriage proposal should be the most romantic moment in a couple's history.
Our's? On the road for twelve hours, no place to stay, and a blowout argument with my future in-laws.
Maybe she should have said no...
Are You Ever Too Old to Be a Thespian?
I went to a local production of The Lion In Winter last night and it reminded me of the one time I tread the boards in college.
This is a re post from April, 2018
You Bet It's a Jersey Thing
Note: I am writing this before the Yankees/Blue Jays Game Four of the American League Division Championship. So far, the series is still alive.