Empire State

Empire State

Photo: Beyond My Ken, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons 1.Every bodypersists in its stateof rest or somnambulantmotion unless awakenedby a force.Only in the clinch instant, the fluttering lids,the unexpected reversal,a life is jerked awake. 2.At the level of...
Ash Wednesday at Grand Central Station

Ash Wednesday at Grand Central Station

Photo by Jakub Hałun, CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED The comparison began when the doctors recommended Mike’s mom take experimental drugs to defeat her disease. At the time Mike had been reading about the eastern front during World War Two. So, after the drugs failed, it seemed...
Midtown Minute

Midtown Minute

Photo: Kamira / Shutterstock.com The first time I was in New York, I was fifteen, my brother was eighteen, and we had two suitcases plus four unexpected hours before a flight. We left our bags in this girl Megan’s hotel room—a camp friend of his, long story—and...
Pastrami

Pastrami

Photo by Alexander Reitter / Shutterstock.com This is a story of grease, and the bonds it forms. We were three good Jewish boys, Flatbush yeshiva bochurim, and when we went about breaking the law of our forefathers, we did so thoroughly and with care and diligence....
95th & Broadway

95th & Broadway

Photo by Jay Dobkin, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Before I walk you to the train, I have to stoplooking at you for the hour preceding thismoment, in which we are late to the train & you are, therefore, late to your new job, & in thispre-moment, which...