When you move to a large city like New York, you join millions of others who make it their home. Whether you know it or not, you are affirming their choice to live there and they are validating you right back. Your collective presence is evidence that you’ve selected a desirable location, and that means […]
The mathematical symbol for change is a neat little triangle Δ. I can remember drawing it on my notebook with a pencil. The teacher told us what it meant, and we took her work for it, but I wondered why, if we were describing change, did my pencil end up back where it started. There has […]
If I had a transcription machine tied to my brain, it would document my thoughts. I could shuffle through the pages it generated and review my internal dialogue. I would probably laugh at a few bits, underline certain insights and skip over the inane fluff. And then, like a diligent paralegal, I would redact every […]
Every so often, I get sad. I let it happen because I am human and alive and that’s part of the deal. Sadness is a natural variation in the spectrum of human experience, it happens. And when it does, that doesn’t mean it defines you. It is part of you but it is not you. […]
When I was in 7th grade, I got in a fight with my Math teacher about infinity. We were learning about decimals at the time, and he taught my class that, there was an infinity of numbers between 0 and 1. Even though one minus zero is one and that is finite, decimals can go on forever and […]
Like a somber “talking-to” from a family doctor, Superstorm Sandy forced New Yorkers to face an uncomfortable reality: the irresponsible lifestyle we have lived for so long has put us at risk, and we must take significant measures to preserve our health going forward. It will take a dual approach of both sustainability and […]
I grew up in a sweet, serene, safe community: a bastion of purity in small-town Michigan. We had no world-class issues. The police blotter in the local paper was comedically innocent: “raccoon topples garbage can,” “local man double-parks van.” But not too far away, trouble loomed large. Detroit, with its towering tombs was a shame to […]
People, like deer and celebrities, tend to cluster amongst themselves. Anytime you should encounter a sitcom star, be still! Lower your gaze. Chances are good that his Emmy-winning girlfriend and the whole supporting cast will come trundling after.
The 19th time this week I saw someone throw their cigarette on the sidewalk, I really wanted to let them have it; the butt that broke my back. I’ve had plenty of opportunities to think up biting one-liners after witnessing an act of illegal disposal, it happens all the time. Most of the time though I settle […]
This is one from the archives, but it seemed fitting in light of the [ongoing] government shutdown. Sometimes it is painful how much my mom and I seem to fulfill the stereotypes of our roles. She is the faithful conservative, religiously devout, financial over-comfortable and stubbornly old-school. I play the role of the steadfast liberal, […]
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