About How I Overheard a Casual Conversation that Connected to Me Spotting Someone I Tangentially Know. — Really weird coincidences today, October 9, 2021. Was sitting at a café and overheard a mom and son talk about a frat party he went to at some college somewhere. After he talked about the usual nonsense he said, “Oh, and this woman next to our room was raped.” Just…

Recalling My Memories of Having Brunch With Ex-Onion Colleagues the Day After 9–11 — The day after 9–11 was oddly calm and quiet. Everyone was in the same boat. Everyone was bonded in that crazy way only disaster could bring people together. Around this time 20 years ago, I would’ve been on a Coney Island bound F train headed to 7th Ave. …

Recalling My Memories of Being in NYC during the 9–11 Attacks on the World Trade Center — On the morning of 9–11 my phone rang. An actual old school rotary phone. I had a cell phone, but used that land line as my main number. I stayed in bed and let the answering machine pick it up. A friend left me a message on my answering machine…

About the Time Me and a Friend Spotted Our Shitty Junior High School Gym Teachers Buying Gold Chains From a Neighborhood Dirtbag — While I liked junior high school, I wasn’t so hot on gym class. Not because of any nerd versus jock bullshit, but because our gym teachers were uninspiring crap. Namely two gym teachers we all referred to as Mr. C and Mr. E. Of course those aren’t their real names…

About the Time My Brother Oddly Insisted I Share the Electronic Game Him and His Wife Liked to Play With My 12 Year Old Classmates — I was 12 years old, was 6th grade and — after my 5th grade science fair victory — somehow I was living this “future scientist” lie my abusive older brother forced into my life. My science teacher (Mr. Schwartz) would endlessly compliment me on my science fair project in 5th…

About the Time Something Caught on Fire in the Wood Shop in Junior High School — It was a bright, sunny, spring-ish day in 1983 in Sheepshead Bay and I was working as a student aide in some school office in James J. Reynolds JHS. Filing, running errands, opening mail, etc… Basic office bullshit like that. I did that kind of work because what else could…

About the Time Me and a High School Friend Somehow Decided That Eating Fancy Tarts on the Steps of the Met Museum Was a Thing for Two Brooklyn Kids to Do — Danny was a high school friend of a friend from Midwood. He lived on East 15th Street near Avenue J. He lived in Midwood and went to Midwood High School. I lived in Brighton Beach and went to Abraham Lincoln High School. …

Yes, this happened in 1993 in Madison, WI. — On the night of May 29, 1993 my mom — a Holocaust survivor — died. …

About how I learned to drive in high school thanks to a sketchy gym teacher, drag racing cops and sad street walkers in Brighton Beach. — It was 1983 and as luck would have it, I was given an opportunity to learn how to drive. Well, when I say “opportunity” I meant that one of the gym teachers I had in high school let us all know he was offering driving classes to us for a…