personal history
September Remembered
I don’t get into work real early. I used to, in the early ’90s I guess, but it wasn’t really in my true nature. Anyway, that’s why I wasn’t yet in Manhattan when the towers were struck on September 11, 2001. I was all ready to go in. Showered, shaved. In the mornings I listen […]
If I Had a Blog in 1992
I guess zines still exist, right? But there would certainly be a lot more if it weren’t for the Interweb, which brought production and distributions costs down to, uh, zero. Anyway, while I worked in Ewing, New Jersey, in 1992, I contributed a couple of essays to a small magazine put together by friends at […]
Daniel Johnston Day
Yesterday I wore my Daniel Johnston t-shirt. No special reason; it was near the top of my t-shirt drawer. (T-shirt drawer #1, anyway. I have a lot of t-shirts.) I first learned of Daniel Johnston when I was a college DJ at Pittsburgh’s WRCT. The station had a recording of Daniel doing an impromptu over-the-phone […]
Memorial Day Sense Memory
With mom-and-pop establishments sealed up tight on national holidays, we—the non-food-preparers—must rely on the kindness of chain restaurants. And that’s how I ended up at my local Qdoba Mexican Grill for lunch today. (I don’t know where dinner will be, but Blimpie is on the short list.) For about a month, a sign has been […]
Dance Hall Days
I don’t know how you counted down to 2011, but I was counting 1-2-3, pause, 5-6-7. It was a pre-midnight salsa lesson at a small club on the Upper West Side. Maybe I was a just a little bit smoother on my feet than my friend Mary Ellen might’ve reasonably expected. The truth was, this […]
Emails Found on my Old Computer, Episode #3
10/12/03 i was walking out of benny’s [pizzeria], and saw benny sitting outside. “i was looking for you!” he says. “i want you to call this girl.” he pulls out a receipt with a name and number written on it in black Sharpie. “Nice girl,” he says. I ask, “What’s her story? Is she tall? […]
Memoir I Have No Intention of Writing, Chapter 1
I’ve been astonished by the onslaught of memoirs, in general but also specifically. Why would we as a society care in the slightest about a detailed account of random people’s lives? I suppose it’s tied to the prevalent oversharing that gave birth to the blogosphere (yes, I know where I’m writing this), the realm of […]
My First Job
Many people might think that I was born at my current place of employment. The truth is, I did have a previous job at a different company for 10 long months. “I can smile about it now, but at the time it was terrible,” as Morrissey once crooned. I’d been hopelessly unemployed the summer after […]
Strangers on a Plane
5/2/03, 8:13 p.m., America West flight 683, Phoenix to Newark, seat 9C I’m a schmuck in some regards. I dream of sitting next to a beautiful woman on a plane. Now I am. With no foreseeable threat from the kindly ethnic middle-aged fellow on the other side. White t-shirt, glasses hanging from it, jeans. Noticed […]
Barbers I Have Known
A friend, having returned from the hairdresser, told me, “You’re lucky you’re a boy. You can get your hair done in five minutes for five bucks.” True enough. But it’s not to say that a special bond can’t develop between a boy and his barber. The shop itself is a special world of masculinity, celebrated […]
Jack Silbert, curator