People have been saying to me for months, “Joe, where’s Tío Chano?” Referring, of course, to my Uncle Luciano.

Well, the short answer is, I didn’t know. For as long as I have known Tío Chano, that is to say, for my entire life, Tío Chano has disappeared for months at a time. Nobody in the family knows where he goes, and we have learned not to ask.

At the end of August 2009 Tío Chano asked me for a ride to LAX. I dropped him off at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at 2:30 AM on August 30th. We heard nothing from him until less than a week ago. (more…)

Poor Tío Chano. He claims that he hates going to the movies, but he won’t stop going to them. My father recalls that the last time Tío Chano liked a movie without reservation was “Patton” in 1970.

I’m not buying it. I think Tío Chano secretly loves the movies, even when he despises them. Last weekend he saw “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” and even though he says it was terrible, he’s started reading our collection of “Harry Potter” books. He insists they’re ridiculous but he’s already halfway through the second book. (more…)