By Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer Published Jan 17, 2008 at 9:43 AM

I'm not sure why I only really want a hot lunch and never, ever, ever crave a cold sandwich, but I have an idea and I think it would make a lot of psychoanalysts nod their heads knowingly.

When I was in grade school, I sometimes went home for lunch, but I also often ate lunch at school. But, being ineligible for the free or reduced rate hot lunch, my mom packed me a lunch. It was the usual: a sandwich, a banana or an apple or a baggie of grapes, a Snack Pack pudding. You know, the regular stuff. There was nothing wrong with the lunch itself, rather the problem lies in the atmosphere.

The hot lunch kids -- by far the majority -- sat in the lunchroom at long tables and appeared to be having a great time. We cold-lunch-from-home kids sat in an unused classroom across the hall. At most there were a couple dozen of us, kept apart, deprived of the fun in the lunchroom.

After a while of this, I think I started going home again for lunch. After all, if I couldn't sit with most of my friends anyway, why not go home, pet the dog, watch some TV and get away for a while?

I'm not really scarred by this experience in any way (that I can tell) except that I don't want a sandwich for lunch, thank you very much. A grilled cheese? Sure. A tuna melt, OK. But a cold sub of any kind? You enjoy it, I'm going to get something warm. 

Bobby Tanzilo Senior Editor/Writer

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.

He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.

With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.

He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.

In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.

He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.