You are currently viewing the stories for “April 2025.”
It wasn’t easy for us to dress for Thanksgiving. Basically, we had interchangeable wardrobes in two sizes: Levis, BVD tees and plaid flannel shirts. Occasionally, I wore a leotard or a 1950’s thrift shop sweater, but there was nothing formal enough for dinner with his family in Queens. So, we dropped by my parents and in my old bedroom closet [...]
When I was a boy in 1950’s South Brooklyn, Easter Sunday was a day of celebration for my family. Wearing our newest dress clothes, we went to the 11 AM mass at Saint Michael’s and then to my maternal grandmother’s apartment for a sumptuous dinner. My parents sat with my aunts and uncles at a large kitchen table, while my [...]
The Brighton Jubilee was a street fair started by a local Brighton Beach neighborhood association in the mid-1970s. At the time the neighborhood needed a good promotional effort — if not a friendly slap on the back— because it was, in many ways, a depressing craphole. Unlike today’s New York City street fairs, which are cookie cutter and filled with the same vendors [...]
The church was located in Hell’s Kitchen on 41st Street and 9th Avenue (Carroll Studios). A little guy named Jimmy made it possible for services to happen in a music studio. It brought him consistent cash, besides rehearsal rentals. It was convenient for me. My job with Carrier Travel was at 1040 6th Avenue on 40th Street. The church was [...]
I saw three different therapists my freshman year of college. The first’s name was Thiago. I visited him in a little shack where I sat on the edge of his couch gripping my tote bag and clicking a pen over and over again. Even before I began speaking, my eyes welled up with tears. I told him about my desire [...]
