The History Buff

Alfred C. Ronzoni Jr. arrives at the Greater Astoria Historical Society right on the dot. He puts his black backpack on the floor and places his paper cup of Lipton tea on the Formica folding table. Everyone is in jeans and sweats. The 45-year-old Al, a barrel-chested bull who looks as though he pumps iron every spare second, is wearing a dress shirt and tie. Al — “I’ve always gone by Al” — is the society’s treasurer, and he’s come to the office to work…

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The Sunshine Goddess

Life doesn’t always take a straight and narrow path; it often chooses a circular route, so let’s start in the middle of the story and see where we end up. Anne-Margaret Redding, cup of herbal tea in hand, curls up on the sofa. So intense is her smile that no sunglasses can block its warm, welcoming rays. She’s talking about intuition, that in-the-gut feeling that has been her guiding light. Passionate and persistent, Anne-Margaret, owner of The Giving Tree Yoga Studio, is life’s…

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The Master of the Mansion: 1927-2010

“I want to die in this house.” That’s what Michael Halberian, owner of the storied Steinway Mansion, declared late on Christmas Eve. Three days later, the house that brought Michael life took him back into its arms for eternity. Michael, who turned 83 in November, was a consummate storyteller. He had a million of them, and he loved to enthrall his listeners with every detail. He didn’t like to talk about himself so much as he did about the mansion, where he lived most of…

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The Two-Time Immigrant

Underneath the grape arbor on the back patio, Garo Apanian opens his candy-apple-red laptop. “Let me show you the apartment where I was born,” he says. “It’s a beautiful building.” As he taps into Google Maps, Nike, his 9-year-old cat, leaves her chair and pads across the glass-top table to look over his shoulder. The image that appears is of a six-story, nine-family building in Beirut, Lebanon. “My family lived on the first floor,” he says. “My brother…

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The Belly-Dancing Psychologist

When Irina Kom parts the exotic pink and gold silk curtain to reveal her living room-cum-bedroom-cum-dance studio, the incense refreshes the senses like a walk in a spring shower. In the corner, there’s an open suitcase filled with glittering costumes spilling out of its sides. Its image is captured in the trio of floor-to-ceiling mirrors that are the backdrop for a small Buddhist shrine showcasing a photo of Irina’s grandmother who passed with the new year. Prominently displayed on the…

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