Becoming a Man
OK. Here I am, a gawky, skinny 15-year-old walking into where he was talking, not nicely, to my mom. There he is, way bigger than me. He coulda easily killed…
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May 16, 2026
Teacher’s Pet
She was young. She was beautiful. And I, a nine-year-old kid from Flushing, Queens, had a giant crush on her. Mrs. Swenson, my fourth grade teacher, was the person that…
May 7, 2026
“How’s the cow?”
"Sir, it is with great humility that an insignificant example of the species homo sapien, a fluke of nature, such as I doth approach an omnipotent majesty, an exalted guardian…
April 1, 2026
NYC — What a “Terrible” Town
A fabulous town. A filthy town. A dangerous town. A crime-filled town. A fun town. A rich town. A poor town. A helluva town. The town I grew up in.…
March 12, 2026
Life Decisions Made by “Mush for Brains”
In my senior years, it has struck me that we make many of our life-affecting decisions when our heads are full of mush and we know so very little about…
February 19, 2026
Bless me, Father, for I have sinned
No discussion of a typical 1950s pre- or early-teen Catholic boy’s Saturday agenda in Flushing is complete without mentioning the sacrament of Penance and the rite of Confession that went…
January 10, 2026
A Summer Saturday in Flushing, NY, NY, 1955
Flushing, NY, NY.That wasn’t a typo. Back then, it meant Flushing, New York City, New York State. And for a 12-year-old, lower-middle-class Catholic kid in the mid-1950s, it was the…
January 9, 2026
My Catholic Years
I was a strongly practicing Catholic from about age 12 to 20, while living in New York. Slightly unique, since there was no family encouragement whatsoever. My mom tolerated my…
April 20, 2025
Solving Your Own Problems- Yay I’m a Grown-up
One of the true signs you're an adult is when you observe a personal problem and look in the mirror at the person who must solve that problem. Believe me.…
March 7, 2025
Snow – Then and Now
Flushing, Queens, NYC. Circa 1950. I was 11 and couldn't wait for the first real snowfall, usually about November 25th Snow meant sleigh riding. (Not one horse, but actually, one…
January 23, 2025
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