Alfonso “Fonso” Gravenese AKA The Salad Oil King, loved to gamble...on sure things. Growing up Yo-Yo contests were held daily in Little Italy. The entry fee was 5 cents per play. Fonso knew his opponents were bigger and older, but he had a streak of larceny in his ice water veins. Minutes... Learn More

Our wedding was a grand affair in Westchester County with over 200 family and friends. The best part? Our guests gave us over $4,000 in cash (which was a lot of money in 1964). It was off to island of Jamaica for our honeymoon the next day. So, the 22-year old... Learn More

When I was in high school, I sold hotdogs and soda at the old Yankee Stadium, which fortunately for me, was only about eight blocks from my school. It was great making some spending money and wandering around the hallowed halls of the Stadium. I especially looked forward to Saturday day games. While... Learn More

When Alfonso “Fonso” Gravenese, AKA The Salad Oil King, was a 9-year old kid, his father asked him to help sell fresh fish from ice-filled cart to their neighbors on Spring Street in Little Italy after school. “Fonso” quickly learned if he stuffed ice into the fish’s mouth with some of the ice... Learn More

(Circa 1944. Russian Zebra Captain pauses after winning a scooter race along the Project Zebra runway in Elizabeth City. Imagine Joseph Stalin and Theodore Roosevelt envision a top-secret mission at a conference in Iran? Imagine America factory workers in Philadelphia build 185 of WWII’s largest and deadliest warplanes? Imagine a select team of... Learn More

Imagine Donald and Vladdy meeting in the latter’s presidential suite at the Four Seasons Hotel in central Damascus to share a song and a coke as they resolve their differences on how to end the Syrian Crisis. After a little friendly banter, the now good friends identify a way for each country to... Learn More

(Circa 1944. Entire Project Zebra Team (300 Russian pilots and 11 US Naval trainer) stand in front of a state-of-the-art warplane, the Nomad, built in America to Russian specs.) “FASCINATING. CLASSY. HEARTFELT. HISTORY DONE RIGHT.” ___ “UNIQUE MOMENT IN TIME. SKILLFULLY CAPTURED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS.” ___ “LIKE SITTING ON A PORCH... Learn More

A horrified Donny sits on a US weapons box next to a dismayed Vladdy in the once ultra-modern Donetsk International Airport in Eastern Ukraine. Donny denounces terrorism of all kinds. Putin admonishes Donny’s lack of sensitivity to international matters. Donny disagrees, explaining he is “best friends” with the leaders of every major country... Learn More

(Circa 1945: Russian flying aces raise the Ameican Flag on Victory Day in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.) Given the endless anti-Russian tirades in the media about Russian election manipulation and Russian collusion, it’s hard to imagine they sacrificed over 30 million citizens and soldiers while having our back against Hilter’s ground advances. Imagine a... Learn More

Vladdy is fascinated by America’s historical ability to blend creativity and capitalism to maintain a robust economy. His goal is simple: to determine what Google innovations could apply to Russia’s brand of Social Democracy. Donny decides the best way to demonstrate American creative exceptionalism is to sit a holographic rowboat in a Google... Learn More