anecdotes
It’s… The Jack & Alana Show!
Thursday night, after midnight: I have worked quite late and am walking to the train. The fan-enhanced mannequins in the French Connection windows have once again caught my eye—their outfits ripple as if in a stiff breeze!—when I realize an actual woman is speaking to me. What? What? Hold on. I remove my earphones. She […]
His Name Is Earl
This wasn’t my preferred train car, but it gave me extra time to work on my material. For there at the end of the platform was the fluorescent-vest-wearing, long-blond-hair-under-a-hat Fist Bump Guy. Most days when I get off the train at Christopher Street, he’s standing there. He is employed by the transit authority though I […]
Memories & Fists
Staring out the window of the shuttle bus, no idea where I was, or if I was headed in the right direction. Brought along a book but it sat unopened in my lap; was too fascinated with unknown streets, storefronts, signs. Have been wandering New York for 18 years and there are still so many […]
Emails Found on my Old Computer, Episode #2
11/30/01 2:33 a.m. SUBJECT: holy fucking shit you can pick up women at [local bar] the Far Side? i can pick up women at the PATH station! i went to “Max Fish” on Ludlow to celebrate the birthday of [freelancer] Jill, who botched a story for me and she’s so hot that i don’t care. […]
Boxing Day
If it was good enough for Joyce Carol Oates, it was good enough for me. I bought tickets to the Cotto-Foreman fight at Yankee Stadium. I certainly can’t say I’ve followed boxing very closely over the years. Sure, as a kid, I was fascinated by the past-his-prime Muhammad Ali. I remember being genuinely nervous between […]
Taking a Powder
I’ve traditionally had a dim view of any athlete caught using performance-enhancing drugs. But I suppose I can no longer pooh-pooh the “a friend gave it to me, I didn’t know what it was” excuse. No, not after last night’s spinning class. There I was, in the back row of the darkened room. We were […]
Out of Time
My watch stopped Saturday at 9:30 a.m. I know this because, well, that’s when my watch stopped. I panicked a bit. This wasn’t a repair I could do by myself. I own a Swiss Military-brand watch, and not even a Swiss Army knife could pry open the back. And I haven’t had a lot of […]
Oh, How I Wish the Economy Would Improve
So the apartment across the hall from me would sell.And the guy living in it now, a buddy of the seller, would have to leave.Because every time I am sitting at the computer,he is on the other side of the wall,talking on the phone,SO VERY LOUD.Every single time.How is that even possible? Who is he […]
Earning My Bedford Cred
The distance is the same but it’s more aesthetically pleasing: This is the reason I’ve always given for walking to work from the Christopher St. PATH station rather than the 9th St. station. And it really is a pleasant little walk, as Bedford Street cuts diagonally through the West Village. In 15 years of this […]
Hablo Español. Un Poco.
I don’t mind too much when it rains on Saturdays. At least I get to enjoy a running joke with the counter guys at Piccolo’s. Though the cast of characters has changed over the years, they’re always from Mexico. And this has allowed me yet another opportunity to practice my rudimentary Spanish. From 7th through […]
Jack Silbert, curator