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Memory…belongs to the same part of the soul as imagination; it’s a collection of mental pictures from sense impressions but with a time element added, for the mental images of memory are not from perception of things present but of things past. —Frances Yates from The Art of Memory I grew up in a curious little locale hidden away on the north side...

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Steve Spagnuolo is an Italian American football coach who serves for the Kansas City Chiefs in NFL as a defensive coordinator. He led his team Chiefs to win the Super Bowl LIX by defeating the 69ers. Not only that, he even led his club New York Giants to win Super Bowl XLII. Steve began his NFL career coaching in the Philadelphia Eagles organizatio...

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There are projects in the Italian American world that are not connected to one local community, but rather contain them all, telling a particularly important theme that has characterized throughout the United States the stories of our compatriots. The protagonist of this interview is Raymond Guarini, a fantastic and very proud Italian American wh...

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The Kansas City Royals are months away from the official start of their 2023 regular season, but it's never too early to predict what could happen in the upcoming campaign. MLB.com recently published an article honing in on one player from each team who is slated to have a breakout season. For Kansas City, beat writer Anne Rogers selected first bas...

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Before the supermarket aisles, before the ad campaigns, and before the iconic curvy bottle, there was just the Wishbone restaurant in Kansas City. A classy establishment located at 4455 Main Street, the Wishbone served family-style bowls of fried chicken along with prime rib, lobster tails, brook trout, corn fritters, mashed potatoes and gravy — an...

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Italian on his mother’s side, Brian Sweeney was recently hired as the pitching coach of the Kansas City Royals by Italian American manager Matt Quatraro. Sweeney was most recently the bullpen coach of the Cleveland Guardians on Italian American Terry Francona’s staff. “I heard this in Cleveland: Combining tradition, experience and innovation really...

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For 37 years, the annual “Viviano Variety Show” benefit has operated by the theatrical credo of “the show must go on!” But as Geoffrey Chaucer wrote during medieval times, “All good things must come to an end.” And so it is that the “Viviano Variety Show,” a holiday tradition for many Kansas City area families, will have its 38th and last performan...

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This week, we celebrated National Immigrants Day, a holiday meant to honor the diversity, perseverance and contributions of those who have come from different places and cultures all over the world to make a home in America and in Kansas City. Among them was Nikoles Aleshi, a poor Italian immigrant who built a successful grocery business in Kansas...

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Matt Quatraro is the latest Italian American to manage a club in Major League Baseball. The Rays announced his hiring on Sunday night. Most recently a bench coach in Tampa, he signed a three-year contract with an option for 2026. He was also a hitting coach with the Indians from 2014-2017. An All-American player at Old Dominion University, he made...

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Overlooking this little spot in Waldo would be a big mistake. Jovito’s Italian Café & Deli boasts an impressive selection of Italian deli favorites including Italian beef sandwiches, Muffalini paninis, Chicago-style hot dogs, and more. For your money, nothing on their menu can top the Sicilian sandwich. The Sicilian is simplicity done to absolute p...

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