Grandfather served in World War II on the islands of Okinawa, and was damn proud of it. He talked on-and-on about “those rascally slants” and “those French faggots” and how they owed their very existence to the pride and endurance of the Great Country. Grandfather...
The rich customers always looked at my brother with scared-shitless-eyes. Nothing in their pristine lives could have prepared them for what they were seeing. I mean my brother was huge, about 6’4, with wild auburn hair and a thick unkempt beard filling his pale face....
I wore a red satin dress with yellow flowers in my hair. I wanted to look good, but not like I was trying too hard. Social events—parties, art openings, baby showers—are a minefield of potential humiliation. The function was a book release party in Soho, a wine and...
Robert Thomas walks through the shiny glass doors of DiBartolo’s Costumes Inc, the fifteenth company he will have worked for in the last two years. All of these companies have become more symbols than places now to him, representations of one all-encompassing...
Phillip Madeira was the kid that made me believe in God. The nuns at St. Joes couldn’t do it. Choir boy, first communion, confirmation—the holy shebang. None of it stuck until this neighborhood kid, Phil Madeira from across the street, christened me in God-fearing...
On the day of his mother’s wedding, Brian’s father took him to see Star Wars. With his feet sticking to the ground, they snaked their way into the back row of the theater and Brian’s father handed his son the tub of popcorn, the butter leaking down the side and onto...
