Thursday, June 26, 2014

A Storytelling Trip Through Time

Last Saturday, I headed north to "Back in the Day at Poe Park," a Bronx storytelling and music festival. A two block walk from the # 4 train, and one block from the D train, the event was organized by the Five Boro Story Project, a city wide effort lovingly founded and led by Bridget Bartolini. Bridget grew up listening to her grandparents tell tales of their past on the Upper East Side where high rents forced them out to the "boonies," South Richmond Hill, Queens. Their tellings inspired her to create a platform for unheard stories of the city to dispel negative stereotypes of the outer boroughs. So I went to the Bronx to hear a couple of good ones and knock around some pesky notions I learned about the da Bronx from "Car 54, Where Are You?"



It was a terrific story & music show, with fine tellers and narrator songsmiths giving life lessons on what the Bronx means to them. A large audience gathered and for two hours we were all back in the park. Edgar Allan would have been pleased. And by the way, he wrote Annabel Lee in the cottage you see here. Follow the Five Boro Story Project and get three free credits in New York City history from the school of storytelling knowledge.



This is my new Ask A New Yorker column

















Saturday, June 21, 2014

Back in the Day @ Poe Park ~ Bronx Storytelling today!

I'm headed for "Back in the Day," at Poe Park in the Bronx later today @ 2pm for a storytelling and music festival, part of the Five Boro Story Project, a city wide effort lovingly founded and led by Bridget Bartolini. 

Bridget grew up listening to her grandparents tell tales of their past on the Upper East Side where high rents forced them out to the "boonies," South Richmond Hill, Queens. Their tellings inspired her to create a platform for unheard stories of the city to dispel negative stereotypes of the outer boroughs.

I'm going to the Bronx to hear a couple of good ones and knock around some pesky notions I learned about the da Bronx from "Car 54, Where Are You?"

Friday, June 20, 2014

Move-in Day 1957 ~ Happy Birthday, Rory!

June 20, 1957, on Rory’s first birthday we moved into apartment #4R at 517 East 83rd Street. Mom let Rory and me run straight into the apartment before my aunts and uncles brought the furniture up. I dragged my brother by his arm. At the window was a fire escape with a nest of baby pigeons. Rory squealed and said his newly learned word, “Wow!”
I felt the same way. “Mom, got to see it, birds, lots of them!” I yelled over my shoulder.
Mom came over in three strides, gave Dad a look and said, “Bob, stay here. I’m taking Tommy and Rory for ice cream.”
On the stairs, we passed Aunt Barbara and Aunt Joan carrying our kitchen table and they gave Mom and us a funny look as sweat dripped down their faces.
When we returned from the store Rory and I ran to the window. No birds.
I asked Dad, “Where they go?”
“Their mom taught them to fly and they took off.”
I said nothing but knew something fishy happened. I had a good cry, Rory saw me, and he started crying too. Rory didn’t know why he was crying; he just liked to cry when I cried.
When the furniture was in and the move was over the adults started cracking beers. The next thing I knew a group of friends and extra relatives showed up. Allie Cobert, Uncle Mickey and Uncle Lenny put on Dad’s white dress shirts and made bow ties out of the ladies kerchiefs and begin singing, “Sweet Adeline.” After the singing sung out, Dad played records on his prized RCA Victrola. Bored, I retreated to the bathroom. I sat on the toilet bowl and did some target practice with my water gun. Out the window into the airshaft, a few quick shots off mom’s bra drying on the towel rack, then up at the naked light bulb on the ceiling. That was fun. The more I shot it, the more it sizzled. I could see smoke coming off it. I kept going.

“CRACK, BOOM!”
The bulb exploded, the door flew open and a half dozen people were in the bathroom with me before I could hop off the bowl. Mom was on top of me pretty good but Barbara and Joan extracted me before Mom could figure out what to do with me.
The next day, Barbara came over the apartment to see how we were settling in. She sat in the kitchen drinking coffee with Mom. When Mom wasn’t paying attention, Barbara went to the back window by the fire escape and opened it. Then she sat back down in the kitchen like nothing happened.
Within a few minutes we heard birds, “Tweet, tweet, tweet.” Then it stopped. Two minutes later, “Tweet, Tweet, tweet.”
Mom moaned and said, "Oh, Christ, they’re back.”
I smiled. Then a big gruff voice said, “Fire Inspector, Fire Inspector!”
Mom popped out of her chair. In came Joan in my red fire hat with a big grin on her face.
Joan had gone to the roof and came down to the fourth floor fire escape waiting for Barbara to open the window to let her in. It was not the first, or last time someone came into our Yorkville apartment using something other than the front door.


Happy birthday, Brother.


My book, "I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood," will be published by YBK, October 2014. If you like TV's "The Wonder Years," add tenements, loitering and a subway - you'll slip seamlessly into my world.


Our next "City Stories: Stoops to Nuts, show on Tuesday, July 8th @ 6pm @ Cornelia Street Cafe is a doozy.

Our amazing artists: "The Duchess and the Fox, aka, Andrea Diaz and Joe McGinty(standout and founder of The Losers Lounge), Jennifer Barrett (Living Loud), Nicole Ferraro (NY Times) and Harry Rolnick (WSJ). We're bringing the musical side of storytelling to our show in a big way with Andrea, Joe and Jennifer merging with two of my favorite tellers in NYC, Nicole and Harry.






Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Sunny Days & Our Killer July Stoops to Nuts Line-Up

This week the sky played tricks with the size of the sun as we see it.


My book, "I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood," will be published by YBK, October 2014. If you like TV's "The Wonder Years," add tenements, loitering and a subway - you'll slip seamlessly into my world.

Our next "City Stories: Stoops to Nuts, show on Tuesday, July 8th @ 6pm @ Cornelia Street Cafe is a doozy.

Our amazing artists: "The Duchess and the Fox, aka, Andrea Diaz and Joe McGinty (standout and founder of The Losers Lounge), Jennifer Barrett (Living Loud), Nicole Ferraro (NY Times) and Harry Rolnick (WSJ). We're bringing the musical side of storytelling to our show in a big way with Andrea, Joe and Jennifer merging with two of my favorite tellers in NYC, Nicole and Harry.






Sunday, June 15, 2014

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day, Dad. Lots to remember, lots to think about.

My book, "I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood," will be published by YBK, October 2014. If you like TV's "The Wonder Years," add tenements, loitering and a subway - you'll slip seamlessly into my world.



Friday, June 13, 2014

The Losers Lounge - Best Bang for the Buck in NYC

Ward White
My happiest time of year is not tied to the weather, nor is it tied to a holiday. I get silly when The Losers Lounge play Joe’s Pub. Founded by Joe McGinty and Nick Danger in 1993 at the Pink Pony, the revue grew into a musical force when it merged with the Kustard Kings led by David Terhune (David formed the band in 1992.) 4 to 5 times a year, the Losers pay tribute to a band or songwriter (sometimes two artists in a show down: Cat Stevens vs. James Taylor; or a holiday theme like Valentine Day.) Each show, 20 or more artists spill their guts on one song each with the band behind them. I began following the Losers at West Beth in 1999, and like a rat behind the Pied Piper I followed the music over to Fez under the Time Cafe. Several years ago the show moved across Lafayette Street north to Joe’s Pub.
Mike Fornatale

Today, The Losers Lounge are brilliantly led by Joe McGinty and David Terhune on lead guitar in the Joe McGinty 7 (Kustard Kings merged into the 7.) The band roster, Julian Maile, Jeremy Chatsky, Clem Waldman, Eddie Zweiback, Connie Petruk, Tricia Scotti, Megan Gould, Claudia Chopek, Eleanor Norton clear your minds of worries with fabulous music at each show. The remarkable Nick Danger continues to perform a tune at each show.

Last weekend, I attended the Talking Heads show on Friday and Saturday. Wild nights! Here are photos from those shows and two links to more than 175 photographs from Friday and Saturday.

Do yourself a favor, stay tuned to The Losers Lounge web site for information on their next event. You’ll love it. At $25 a pop, The Losers Lounge remains the best bang for the buck in NYC.

David Driver

Connie Petruk & David Terhune

Connie 

David Milone

Cici James

Wilder Selzer

Nick Danger & Thomas Pryor

Joe McGinty

Anna Copacabana

Alyson Greenfield

Joanna Choy

Jack Skuller

Roshara Francis

Libby Sentz

Alyson Greenfield


Susan Neuffer