On this day, 40 years ago, August 26th, 1979, my family stepped off a plane at JFK. On the way to our new hometown, Sparta, NJ, my father insisted we stop at the base of the World Trade Center towers. He was awed by the towers. And they were terrific, sure, but, coming from the…
Category: Identity
Dawns
The one word to learn. In any tongue is thank you. Rising from your bunk.
A Long Journey On The 2 Train
Standing riders shuffled around, equalizing the gap between themselves and everyone else.
None heard that the lines written for Hercule Poirot were delivered with a proper English tone. Nor did they care that the questions from her daughter were born of a place much closer to Kensington and Prospect Park than Kensington and Hyde Park.
Facing Light
A morning in flux. My dreams hang dark and real. Then I am free.
On Being Prudish And Nakedness Among Men
When living on a boat and bathing at the marina’s showers, the nakedness of other men is unavoidable. Often, we are on the same schedule, heading to work at the same time. Day after day of toweling off together has born many friendships. I remember once discussing this, over a glass of wine at a…
Weighted Coin: Spare a Dollar
I once passed out, drunk, resting my head on the curb outside a gas station. I was kicked awake by a Sheriff’s deputy. He sent me home after I explained that I was just waiting for the store to open so I could buy a pack of cigarettes. He could have bundled me into the back…
The awful rise of boat name pun-ditry
Among boats built in the 1990s, the pun name SEAS THE DAY cracked the top 30. It was just the beginning. By the 2000s, the boozy HAPPY OURS and the medical KNOT ON CALL had joined it in the top 30. The next decade saw WHY KNOT added to the top names and why not?
Who Am I and We and He and She and They
Many years ago, I went to my son’s back to school night. Typical stuff. In preparation for the evening, each of the first-graders was to draw their family. And in doing so, she told them to pick the colors that reflected reflect the ethnicity of themselves and their family. And, by way of explanation, she said the she was black….