personal history
Hurricane in Hoboken: My Story
Sorry, I’d tell another disappointed visitor on the Hoboken House Tour, the Yankee Ferry wasn’t open today. It was Sunday morning, I was doing a volunteer shift for the Historical Museum, and the nearby house boat’s owners were too busy battening down the hatches before the coming storm. (I’d never used the term “batten down […]
So Long, Madelaine, With Love, Jimmy
Sunday morning I got a message: My friend Madelaine had passed away, there was a wake that afternoon, did I need a ride. I gladly accepted Michele’s kind offer, as I have no idea where Bay Ridge is, and now having been there, I still don’t know. Madelaine Schwendeman. The news wasn’t a total shock; […]
How Not To Go Viral
This morning, September 4, 2012, a dream died, live on the air. It was a dream that lasted 595 days, only to be coldly snuffed out when former NFL defensive end Michael Strahan was officially named the permanent co-host of Live! With Kelly. And though my efforts to land the job ultimately fell short, I […]
Great, Grand.
It started in a backyard in Tucson, back in April. We’d gathered out there for a memorial for my cousin Jimmy. Among the photos people were perusing was one I didn’t recall seeing before. It was my great-grandparents, David and Jennie Heiden. I was a little taken aback. I can’t say I ever gave much […]
I’m Walkin’ Here
For some, walking is a pedestrian activity. But not me, brother. I love it. And though I can pinpoint the genesis of my current wanderlust to July 5, 2010, the truth is that I’ve always enjoyed a nice long stroll. I associate them with adventure. Around 3rd grade in suburban California, my buddy Chris and […]
Mama Don’t Take My Soda Bottle Away
Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed ban of greater-than-16-ounce sugary drinks in New York City gave me pause for thought. And it was not the pause that refreshes. Granted, I am a New Jersey resident. But quite often I cross the river into the big town, and when I get there, I like to enjoy a lovely beverage. […]
E-Z Does It
I’m a classic late adopter: DVD, cellphone, smartphone, Chinese baby. So maybe 15 years for me to finally sign up for E-Z Pass is not so bad. I was curious when the system was launched in New Jersey in 1997, but I was skeptical. In the summer of 1999, my forward-thinking friend Maia was imploring […]
Laura, My Love, Delegate From the Philippines
While you were exploring the mysteries of raging hormones, sneaking cigarettes and wine coolers, I was busy learning Robert’s Rules of Orders in the Model United Nations. It was an after-school club. We’d be assigned countries and bone up on their policies, using any research materials we could dig up in that pre-Internet world. (Facts […]
Jack Silbert, curator