Growing up in the Brooklyn projects...

I was so encouraged to perform by my gramps that it always

stayed with me. In high school, I picked up the guitar and started

writing songs and performing once again. By the time I was 23,

I became the proud owner of a New York delicatessen. Everyday

while making sandwiches for the lunch crowd, me and the boys would

be putting on quite a show behind the counter. It made their wait in

line seem much quicker because once again, I found myself performing.

They didn't care how long it took, even though we were the fastest kids

on the block. That experience of owning the deli has given me a world of

stories. I'm not sure if they came for the food or the performances, but

there was always a line around the block. 

Sometime later, when I moved to California, I got into the hospitality

business once again. A different act every night on the restaurant floor.

I was orally telling stories for many years but never once did I think

that I'd ever have my stories written down. I can't write. I can't type. I can't spell. I'm computer illiterate. How the hell does a guy like me from

the projects have two books published? It's unbelievable to me.

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Like it's been my whole life, magically, the right people show up at the

right moment to help me do the things I feel inept to do. As my wife

Pat would say, for thirty eight years of marriage, all I've done is talk.

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Tony Albano - Two-time Book Author, Storyteller & Speaker