Waking up the morning of Tuesday April 1st, 2014; I had no idea how deeply fulfilling the day would turn out to be. I was in San Diego with my wife, and as she was busy all day at an Art Teacher’s Convention downtown; I thought I’d head up to LA to make yet another […]
It was good to be back on the train, it always has been. I started off in the morning with all the other rush hour people. Another good thing; I knew my way around so I automatically fit in. It’s important to me to fit in in a place where I used to live. And […]
Sometimes when you’re sitting on the subway train there’s nothing to do but stare at the ads. Remember these ubiquitous ones from the 80’s, glossy yellow squares that said “Pregnant? We can help!”? I was an art student then and I collected them for kicks. You used to be able to pry ads out of […]
During all of my visits the last dozen years or so, there was something I just had to see in New York, but for various reasons, couldn’t. One thing that always held me back was the sight of NYPD officers in the subway; wearing Kevlar and toting automatic weapons in those queasy years after 9/11. […]
In New York now it’s easier than ever to find out about things you’d been curious about for years. Intrigued by palimpsests, I’ve always wondered about those old F.M. Ring painted ads about a dozen stories up on several old buildings in the Twenties. I assumed they were many decades old but failed to notice […]
There was a flea market that assembled itself outside the gates of Pratt Institute in Brooklyn some Sundays. The trouble was, it only convened on “some Sundays,” it was unreliable. It didn’t matter much anyways, I and my art student friends were usually broke; and the stuff they offered wasn’t worth much. It was all […]
My friend Susan has been a vegan for decades. She’s invested a lot of time finding the healthiest, tastiest vegan cuisine in New York. When I was in the City, sometimes I’d come along for the sampling of cuisine, sometimes not. Knowing about my burgeoning interest in Buddhist Meditation, she brought me along one day […]
Some of my clearest memories are of waiting on the front porch of my house at 126 S. 43rd West Avenue in Tulsa. It was 1978 and I was 10 years old going on 11. I was a reflective (some might say brooding) kid given to flights of fantasy and whimsy. I sat there, while […]
Twenty years ago tonight I had my last drink ever at my favorite watering hole and hangout, Two Boots Restaurant and Bar in Brooklyn. I was there (as if I ever needed an excuse) to attend the screening, the World Premiere, if you will, of a 90 minute long silent movie comedy called “The Schenectady […]
“Hey dude, yeah you. I see you or someone like you every morning on my way to work. You’re the guy who impatiently blows by me on the road, you know, because I’m only going 10 miles over the posted limit. Do you ever notice that I’m also the guy you see 5 traffic lights […]
I love being tracked. I know people nowadays have concerns about the NSA snooping into their business and whatnot; civil liberties: blah blah blah; but I just look at all that as a sign that somebody somewhere cares. It’s comforting to me. I realize this attitude may come about as a result of negligent parenting, but I try not to […]
To those who care, Hollywood Boulevard conjures up a slew of contrasting images, from seedy to glamorous. The seriously uninitiated believe that Hollywood’s stars promenade up and down the starred sidewalks. Others, equally uninitiated, believe it’s a place too scary to visit, day or night. Well, with 35 years of ongoing experience, I can tell […]