"This Is The Season Everyone Is Leaving"

Seriously! What's the maximum number of family members one is allowed to lose within a month?
Last month, my beloved cousin Dan. This month, my dad's oldest brother Louie...

The Original Brat Pack: Uncle Louie, Uncle Stanley, Aunt Joan, Uncle Artie, Richie (my Dad), Uncle Tony, & "Cha-Cha" Vinnie!

Growing up in a big family, especially, an Irish-Italian family, means a lot of yelling over one another. It's difficult for others to realize that this is how we communicate- as Cuba Gooding so eloquently put it in Jerry McGuire, "You think we're fightin', I think we're finally talking'"!
Recently, I've been making it my life's mission to run away from all the noise in my life, now I wonder- what will that mean when it's finally quiet?

"May you get to heaven a half-hour before the devil knows you're dead!"
Cin Cin!

R.I.P. Uncle Lou...Dan