I happened to stop in El Rancho Grande one Friday afternoon for a good bowl of caldo de res when I noticed a group of lively men having lunch.
“Hey Ralph, do you remember when…” “Hey Fred that guy over there, he’s from Mi Gente Magazine. ” were a few of the conversations I heard going on all at once in between sips of coffee and the unwrapping of warm tortillas hidden in paper baskets.

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On Thanksgiving Day my nieces Rachel and Katy decided to head down to my parent’s basement to collectively search through anything that may rouse their interest. Rachel, who is 18, opened a chester drawer and found an old dress of her mother’s that dated back to 1971. She laughed and declared it “cool” and shook the dress of its dust before she tried it on. It fit and, along with some “Ugly Betty” glasses adorning her face, my niece was my sister Joanne all over again —37 years later. (So where am I going with this story?)

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