There are several great Christmas traditions that I refuse to surrender despite being a jaded, cynical atheist. I still give gifts to family and friends, I still buy a real Christmas tree and decorate it, and still I watch Bad Santa every year. If you have not seen it, do so; you won’t be sorry…. Read more »
The week after Thanksgiving 1959, my mother left my brother, Rory, off at my grandparents on York Avenue and picked me up at P.S. 77 after kindergarten dismissal. Together we walked over to the 86thStreet cross-town bus just pulling up to the corner. Mom dropped a Mercury dime (I loved coins my grandmother and father… Read more »
New York City has no legal places to hunt, and it’s a good thing that we can’t start shooting geese in Central Park or pigeons in Prospect Park. Although one could probably bag a nice wild turkey in Inwood Hill Park if you’re patient enough, it would be a bad idea to take your shotgun… Read more »
The annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Balloon Inflation wasn’t always an event that drew tens of thousands of visitors to the Upper West Side. It used to be something semi-secret that took place in the dark and cold one night each year just around the corner from Central Park West. For decades the night before Thanksgiving on… Read more »
So I walk into the house, I’m 10, and the first thing I see is a pair of bare legs on the inside of a closed window and the rest of the body isn’t in the apartment. I’m praying to God whoever it is doesn’t fall, the soapy glass prevents a clean identification of the… Read more »
Sometimes when I am in Manhattan late, either for a work function or some other reason, I will treat myself to a meal at White Castle and a more luxurious ride home to Flushing, Queens on the Long Island Railroad. Not long ago I had another such night. White Castle holds a unique place in… Read more »
The 42nd Street Library is a treasure, not simply for New York, but for civilization. The palatial marble structure rising behind the two guardian lions is one of the most important repositories of literary archives in the history of humanity. The facility protects priceless treasures. It is an institution that draws world-class scholars and international… Read more »
Every generation must outdo the one before. Not only does everyone know this, everyone has lived it. We all experience the developmental stage of defiance and rebellion. The obsolete is abandoned so new ideas can arise and society is renewed. These are the rites of passage. Consider the “rite of passage” on the topic of… Read more »
On Friday, November 22, 1963, after lunch the St. Stephen of Hungary’s student body assembled in the auditorium for our once in a blue moon movie. That day our feature was “The Yearling.” A kid adopts a baby deer and his father played by Gregory Peck gives him the business. I was happy and not… Read more »
The gay community is a collective rainbow huff over the movie “Ender’s Game” because the author of the novel on which the movie is based, Orson Scott Card, holds conservative views on gay marriage and homosexuality. Lots of gays refuse to see the film and some have organized boycotts. I have not read the book… Read more »
