Why is this website called Paul Chato and not Peter Paul Chato like my vlog channel? Well, Peter Paul is my full name, but at about the age of five I decided that I just did not like the sound of Peter Chato so I told my parents to call me Paul. Don’t know why Peter bothered me. Oh, the crazy mind of a five year old.
My parents were born in Budapest, Hungary. My dad was an only child and my mom was orphaned and raised by relatives. Dad’s father, Paul, was in the asphalt road biz and was an inventor and loved gadgets. Mom was a fashion illustrator and loved Hollywood cinema. My Dad, Les, was a salesman (in the Tin Men mould) an indomitable optimist with too many schemes and too little money. Mom, Ann, was an indomitable pessimist. The glass was not half empty, it had fallen and smashed on the floor.
They both survived WWII, internment camps and then the Soviets. They came to Canada in 1946 to build a new life. They gave life to me and my brother, Ron.
I had a crazy aunt Monjo, which is the diminutive for Margit. She looked like one of those 1920, skinny Flappers. She shaved her eyebrows and then pencilled them back in much higher. She taught me how to do hand shadow puppets. Manjo was also an actress/comedien in Budapest. (See playbill- Friss Margit) I loved her dearly. She lived in Montreal for a time and we stayed at her place during Expo 67.
So, why am I writing about these people? I am an amalgam of all of the above. I’m a techno geek, actor, comedian, salesman, entrepreneur, designer, writer. I would like to thank the above DNA for making me who I am today.
My present day activities include lording over my website empire of www.yourwebdepartment.com and noodling around with The Frantics Comedy Troupe entrails.
Oh, the other important thing is that I used to own this car.
