Back in Philadelphia was when I first saw my father as weak, as dependent, and as a guy who didn’t like working. Despite his lack of funds he seemed insistent on this last point—he would avoid work entirely unless he found what he considered to be his proper position. This was when I first saw [...]
The Commute, Part 1
4:31, City Hall: I get downstairs just as the uptown R train is pulling away. This is a scene that has repeated itself approximately seven hundred times since I moved to New York. Accordingly, I curse out loud as I swipe my metrocard and push through the turnstile onto the now-deserted platform. The 4:30 R [...]
Why New Yorkers Don’t Care
Cynicism, in ancient Greece, was a philosophy that valued Virtue above all else. It preached the necessity of living in accordance with Nature and the adoption of an ascetic lifestyle, shunning material desires like wealth, power or fame. The term “Cynic” derives from an Ancient Greek word meaning “dog-like”, referring to the Cynic’s propensity for [...]
Seen on the R Train
As the train screeched to a halt at the 46th Street station she looked out the window and smiled at me. That was disconcerting enough. Then the doors opened, and I stepped inside and found a seat. When I glanced over she was still looking at me, a wide, goofy grin plastered on her face. [...]
Greetings from the Monkey House
Three and a half years ago I made the move from Pittsburgh to New York City. My decision was made for the same reason almost everyone moves here – money. I did not come to New York dreaming of becoming a famous writer. I did not come to New York to soak up its culture [...]
Sequel, Part 1: An Essay About Second Chances
Last night I had the Navy Dream again. It’s my own version of that anxiety dream everyone experiences when life gets too complicated. In the Navy Dream, somehow I find myself back in the Navy, on a new ship without any friends, uniforms or gear — and most importantly, without any idea of how long [...]
Isn’t It Pretty to Think So?
When I was a flight attendant, the airline’s company store sold t-shirts that said, “Marry Me, Fly Free.” The shirts were funny and humiliating and possibly desperate, but many new flight attendants wore them. The shirts got a lot of attention in hotel bars. Drunk people all over the world take t-shirt advertising seriously. “This [...]
Sing to Me of Gangsters
So, kid, whuddya see? I looked forward to him coming by every night in his big black limo, handing me a fiver for a three-cent Daily News and asking me the same question. And every night I had a different answer. It was like writing poetry, coming up with a different answer for Frank Costello. He [...]
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