First, there's my father, Al. He grew up moving around central and northern New Jersey. During one of his stops, he moved into a house in Clifton. That house happened to be just up the street (literally) from a young, innocent girl named Dorothy. Well, the dashing young man up the street caught her eye. A few years later, they got married, and that innocent young girl is now my mother, Dottie.

After spending a few years in and around Nutley, they decided to settle approximately an hour south, in Somerset County. I was 2 when we moved into our new (at the time) house, and my brother, Jason (more on him later) was barely a few weeks old. Yes, my parents moved into a huge house with a whole mess of boxes, bags, and other sundries (most of which have by now taken up permanent residence in either their attic or basement!), as well as their first son going through the Terrible Twos, and a newborn infant. I don't think they ever fully recovered. Needless to say, I don't plan on following that exact plan, but I'm sure something rather similar lies in my not-too-distant future.

I mentioned my brother, Jason above. He's now 27, and works in the construction industry in New Jersey.

Aside from the immediate family, I also have cousins in Passaic and Morris Counties, NJ, Rockland County, NY, and Boston, MA. The family in Passaic lives right next door to Grandma. Meanwhile, my cousins in central New Jersey have now produced the family's newest addition, my first cousin, once removed, Jonathan Taylor. Mom (Karen), Dad (Brian), are doing just fine.