The author grew up in and around New York City during the golden years following World War II, the son of a barroom brawler. He attended thirteen different grammar schools, some while a ward of the state, as his mother moved him and his two sisters from place to place to escape an abusive husband or a landlord looking to collect the rent. Married three times, he has three beautiful children and is proud of his three grandkids, but now lives alone.
