It was the last day of a conference in Indianapolis and I was starting to crack. Three days of breakfasting and lunching with strangers, cheerful collaboration during workshops, and shoptalk between sessions were getting to me (see the name of this website). That morning I unintentionally shut down the conversation at a table when I wasContinue reading “Down and out in Naptown”
Category Archives: Strangers
Pocket calculator
I’ve only told this story a couple of times since I moved to New York because I always got the feeling that people didn’t quite believe me. I’m very happy that my best friend Jeff Gauntt is now telling it in his blog. READ IT
My Sunday making America great again
When the good people at Make the Road put out a call for volunteers to register voters, I knew I should sign up. It had been too long since I had done something charitable. Plus it was in Queens! On a Sunday! How could I say no? I had a brief moment of panic when IContinue reading “My Sunday making America great again”
This book can change your life
Every so often, I try to clear a little space on my already overstuffed bookshelves. Today I’m leaving two books on my porch, one of which had a big effect on me when I first read it–and possibly on two people who didn’t.
Not quite white
I was making my way back to work after lunch with a friend at La Loteria, one of the few Mexican restaurants I like in Manhattan. I don’t like to walk around in Greenwich Village because I always get lost, but I do it because, as anyone will tell you, it’s rare to find goodContinue reading “Not quite white”
Dance like nobody’s watching
It won’t come as a surprise to learn that I’m not comfortable dancing. That’s exactly why last year, for my wife’s birthday, I signed us up for dance classes. The gift was not me learning to dance, it was my willingness to put up with the humiliation of taking dance classes.
Worst movie ever
There I was, in a crowded 4 train on my commute to work in the Financial District, reading another horrifying story about the ravages of neoliberalism, when something caught my eye.
A glitch in the matrix
As I do most nights (and as she described in this lovely article), I was reading to my wife in bed. This time, it was a very strange story about a community of people who believe a ’90s children’s movie starring Sinbad has disappeared, possibly due to a crossover with other dimensions, a glitch in theContinue reading “A glitch in the matrix”
The five lessons I learned from strangers
This morning I crossed paths with the elderly Indian gentleman I see most mornings on my way to work. We went through our usual routine: I smile and say good morning, and he smiles back, performs an elegant flourish with his hand, and responds, “and a very good day to you.” Not only is hisContinue reading “The five lessons I learned from strangers”
Don’t judge a book by its readers
A girl in college once told me she thought that people who liked the same bands could probably be friends. Her sentiment struck me as terribly naïve, but it’s taken me two decades to question my own assumption that people who like the same books share a sensibility. Last week my wife and I wentContinue reading “Don’t judge a book by its readers”
