Safety Calculus

No, she insists, I never feel unsafe in the Bronx.  It’s on the Upper East Side walking alone, late at night, surrounded by drunk and entitled white men that she feels any unease.  She is aware of the coldness between 5th and Lex where no one but the occasional doorman would turn if she called [...]

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evelyn

Since childhood, I have had an affinity for the Twelve Dancing Princesses fairy tale.  I thought it was because the girls seemed the most independently minded, able to outwit their father and the men who sought to claim them.  Now I’m beginning to wonder if I just wanted to join their sisterhood of shoe destruction. [...]

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development economics and project runway

Over the weekend, I finished The White Man’s Burden.  Like the book Black Redneck, White Liberals that I read this fall, it may as well have been titled Shoot the White Girl as I commuted to and from my job in the Bronx.  Still, with the cover buried in my lap or carried strategically, I [...]

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why i live in the 80’s

I live in the 80’s, as in north of 79th street and south of 90th street on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.  Today, I made the mistake of assuming that the 70’s were like the 80’s.  They are not.  They have shopping specially designed for “ladies who lunch” and not “women who are dedicated [...]

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a good bug

Tonight I got to see Bug for the first time in two weeks. I’ve gotten to see her fairly consistently on Wednesdays as the autumn’s progressed, and I was especially happy to see her tonight. It seems like such a long time ago that we were all alone on Wednesdays and teaching was still [...]

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revolutionary wanna-bes

Yesterday I visited Sharon at her seasonal job — Barnes and Nobles. I understand her love of being around books and if I had a million dollars I’d work in a little bookshop and smile all day. If I was better at being my mother’s daughter I’d work in a library, but in [...]

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threat levels

Walking through the intersection of 60th and Park last night, I was surrounded by the steam spewing from three massive tubes that had been propped atop the manholes there. Running along the river today, I narrowly missed falling into a hole in the hexagonal-tiled pedestrian/bike path. The much publicized, and much mocked, [...]

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subway shoulder reading

At J’s suggestion and on loan from her brother, I am reading a book called “Black Rednecks, White Liberals.” The book is by a conservative, black Stanford professor named Thomas Sowell. It’s not something I would normally read, but my south Bronx experiences have tempered my initial stance on a specific set of [...]

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if you want to work in mar’s store

After indulging in a white peach glazed donut and a blueberry lemonade, I went fake-shopping in Soho with an FIT design student. I learned a lot about sleeves and salesmanship.
First, there are three types of sleeves that you are likely to find if you go shopping in Soho. The kind that [...]

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most romantic street performers ever

Walking due north along Poet’s Walk, past the Naumberg bandshell, and down the steps towards Bethesda Fountain and Navy Terrace, there is a beautiful tiled sancturary straight out of a European fantasy. Softly lit at night and graced with phenomenal acoustics, it is my favorite place to walk in the city. Last night, [...]

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