You are currently viewing the stories for November, 2007
A Mighty Herd of Doormen
by Ellen Lindquist 11/18/2007Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
Our doorman, John, wants an exercise bike for the lobby. I can imagine him on the bike, next to the sign that reads, “All Guests Must Be Announced.” Instead of greeting me, he would be riding the bike. Instead of buzzing the intercoms, the wheels would be churning and the perspiration on his brow would […]
Liquid Straightjacket Works Every Time
by Thomas R. Ziegler 11/18/2007Neighborhood: Murray Hill
It’s 1983; I’m on the job ten years and have received my first promotion. Yesterday as a firefighter I carried an axe and fought fires; today as a Fire Marshal I carry a gun and fight crime. In most departments around our country, the title Fire Marshal denotes a person who performs inspectional duties. In […]
From the Captain’s Point of View
by Bill Schell 11/18/2007Neighborhood: Across the River, Manhattan
The Captain sensed an uneasiness in the room. The two men in front of him were looking off to their right. They had strange expressions on their faces. Was it disgust? Was it fear? Was it an expression of embarrassment or shame? None of these emotions had been noticed by this Captain during several years […]
Intervention at 42nd Street
by Michelle Wilson 11/11/2007Neighborhood: Midtown
I hustle into the car, glad to secure a seat. It’s always musical chairs on the cross-town shuttle, full-grown adults making a mad dash to slip into any remaining sliver of real estate. The open desperation on their faces and their coiled, tense bodies once embarrassed me. But I’m used to it now. I’m one […]
The Meathead on the No. 1 Train
by Lily Shen 11/11/2007Neighborhood: Upper West Side
During a packed, standing room only ride on an uptown No. 1 train, I tried to shut out the crowd, absorbing myself in the free AM New York newspaper I picked up that morning. Two men who were squeezed against each other began to argue. Their voices grew so alarmingly loud that I could no […]
Jeremy the Liar
by Alia Akkam 11/04/2007Neighborhood: SoHo
“No, it should be to your left,” I whispered into my cell, trying not to disrupt the hushed conversations of the infatuated couples around me. Jeremy couldn’t find the bar, it was tucked away upstairs from a bakery, so I guided him to it over the phone. With each direction I spouted out, I grew […]
The Playwright Takes Tickets
by Tom Diriwachter 11/04/2007Neighborhood: Midtown
The lobby of The American Theatre of Actors has the dimensions of a good-sized loft. The walls are lined with rows of old theater seating, about half the seats functional, others semi-functional, propped up with wood, or hanging low. Several are covered, permanently out of commission. There’s the box-office. Double doors open on the theater. […]
Downtown Dyke in Midtown Sports Bar
by Kate Walter 11/04/2007Neighborhood: Midtown
We were three gay women surrounded by a ring of testosterone in an Irish pub in midtown. The Rangers were on TV playing the Sabres in the semifinals taking place down the street in Madison Square Garden. Grown men sat at the bar in team jackets and hats and cheered the onscreen action. Maybe they […]