Saturday, November 26, 2016

Yorkville Hairdoo

Dad disapproved my hair-doo in 1972.

Dad's smiling somewhere over new doo and saying to himself, "Finally."

Odd, going for a haircut at 62, and still thinking about the dread of getting another friggin' crewcut, followed by relentless torment in my teens when I fought back about hair length. Almost got a crewcut to shut him up. But that meant death socially.

In the spirit of hair-doos here's a story from my memoir, "A Barber's Portrait of Kaiser Wilhelm," also published by Mr. Beller's Neighborhood.









Do you like old New York City photos and street life stories? Then check out my 1960s memoir,
"I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood."Available at Logos Book Store and online at Amazon or Barnes and Noble.

The book has 121 Amazon five star reviews out of 121 total reviews posted. We're pitching a perfect game. My old world echoes TV's "The Wonder Years" ~ just add taverns, subways and Checker cabs.


Saturday, November 19, 2016

Pumping Up!

Rory & I are pumping up for Ryans Daughter tonight @ 7pm for Thomas Pryor's "City Boy"




"City Boy" my solo show,
This Saturday, November 19 @7pm
Ryan's Daughter.
Come on down to 350 E. 85th Street.
FREE SHOW
Thomas Pryor's "City Boy" is a love letter to street life in the 1960s working class Manhattan neighborhood, Yorkville. Devil Dogs were a nickel, Spaldeens flew, and the capture game, Ringalario, let boys put their arms around girls for the first time. Nuns slugged you for humming baseball’s beer jingles in class. And, like other fathers, Tommy’s took him to saloons, all day, and no one thought it was strange. In this funny and bittersweet portrait of family and life, Pryor echoes TV’s “The Wonder Years” - just add in taverns, subways and Checker cabs.



Thomas Pryor's work has appeared in The New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and other periodicals. His memoir, “I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood,” was published in 2014 (YBK). His short stories are found in Thomas Beller's, "Lost and Found: Stories from New York," Three Rooms Press, “Have A NYC 2,” and Larry Canale's, "Mickey Mantle - Memories and Memorabilia." Pryor’s blog: "Yorkville: Stoops to Nuts," was chosen by The New York Times for their Blog Roll in 2008. Thomas appeared on PBS's "Baseball: A New York Love Story," NBC’s "New York Nonstop,” “This American Life,” and TV’s “Impractical Jokers.” His newspaper column ran in Our Town and The West Side Spirit and his weekly radio show was featured on the Centanni Broadcasting Network. For five years, Thomas curated a monthly storytelling show, “City Stories: Stoops to Nuts,” at the Cornelia Street Café that Time Out Magazine, The New York Daily News and CBS News praised. His photography portfolio, "River to River - New York Scenes From a Bicycle," was published in 2012 (YBK). Cornelia Street Cafe hosted an exhibition of his photography. NBC TV, New York Press/Our Town Downtown and NY 1 TV highly recommended the exhibit and his portfolio. His passion is preserving the history of Yorkville and the Upper East Side through storytelling, writing and photography. His multi-media show about the neighborhood, “City Boy” in preview tonight. You can view and purchase his New York City prints online at Thomas R. Pryor Photography.

Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Pot Belly Rory Wins Contest!

Rory wins race!
At the lake in summer of 61, Rory snuck many cans of Hoffman soda out of the giant Coca Cola cooler, and bet me he could drink more soda than me in fifteen minutes. Rory won.

Seeing my brother's belly, Uncle Mickey shouted, "let's use Rory as a float." Mom swung, Mickey ducked safely and all Mom did was muss up his carefully groomed hair. His comb flew out like a switch blade in a knife fight.
Uncle Mommy
Wise Guy Mickey

"City Boy" my solo show,
This Saturday, November 19 @7pm
Ryan's Daughter.
Come on down to 350 E. 85th Street.
FREE SHOW
Thomas Pryor's "City Boy" is a love letter to street life in the 1960s working class Manhattan neighborhood, Yorkville. Devil Dogs were a nickel, Spaldeens flew, and the capture game, Ringalario, let boys put their arms around girls for the first time. Nuns slugged you for humming baseball’s beer jingles in class. And, like other fathers, Tommy’s took him to saloons, all day, and no one thought it was strange. In this funny and bittersweet portrait of family and life, Pryor echoes TV’s “The Wonder Years” - just add in taverns, subways and Checker cabs.



Thomas Pryor's work has appeared in The New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and other periodicals. His memoir, “I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood,” was published in 2014 (YBK). His short stories are found in Thomas Beller's, "Lost and Found: Stories from New York," Three Rooms Press, “Have A NYC 2,” and Larry Canale's, "Mickey Mantle - Memories and Memorabilia." Pryor’s blog: "Yorkville: Stoops to Nuts," was chosen by The New York Times for their Blog Roll in 2008. Thomas appeared on PBS's "Baseball: A New York Love Story," NBC’s "New York Nonstop,” “This American Life,” and TV’s “Impractical Jokers.” His newspaper column ran in Our Town and The West Side Spirit and his weekly radio show was featured on the Centanni Broadcasting Network. For five years, Thomas curated a monthly storytelling show, “City Stories: Stoops to Nuts,” at the Cornelia Street Café that Time Out Magazine, The New York Daily News and CBS News praised. His photography portfolio, "River to River - New York Scenes From a Bicycle," was published in 2012 (YBK). Cornelia Street Cafe hosted an exhibition of his photography. NBC TV, New York Press/Our Town Downtown and NY 1 TV highly recommended the exhibit and his portfolio. His passion is preserving the history of Yorkville and the Upper East Side through storytelling, writing and photography. His multi-media show about the neighborhood, “City Boy” in preview tonight. You can view and purchase his New York City prints online at Thomas R. Pryor Photography.

Sunday, November 13, 2016

As a young boy, the two ram reliefs on top of the front wall of 427 E. 84 St. always caught my attention in late afternoon on a sunny day. My father told me the guy who owned the building was a ringmaster in the circus and the rams were his pets, Joe and Shmoe. Thereafter, I kept looking for the owner on the stoop in his Claude Kirchner outfit or at least catch a glance of his sidekick, Clownee.


"City Boy" my solo show,
This Saturday, November 19 @7pm
@ Ryan's Daughter.
Come on down to 350 E. 85th Street.
FREE SHOW









Thomas Pryor's "City Boy" is a love letter to street life in the 1960s working class Manhattan neighborhood, Yorkville. Devil Dogs were a nickel, Spaldeens flew, and the capture game, Ringalario, let boys put their arms around girls for the first time. Nuns slugged you for humming baseball’s beer jingles in class. And, like other fathers, Tommy’s took him to saloons, all day, and no one thought it was strange. In this funny and bittersweet portrait of family and life, Pryor echoes TV’s “The Wonder Years” - just add in taverns, subways and Checker cabs.



Thomas Pryor's work has appeared in The New York Times, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and other periodicals. His memoir, “I Hate the Dallas Cowboys - tales of a scrappy New York boyhood,” was published in 2014 (YBK). His short stories are found in Thomas Beller's, "Lost and Found: Stories from New York," Three Rooms Press, “Have A NYC 2,” and Larry Canale's, "Mickey Mantle - Memories and Memorabilia." Pryor’s blog: "Yorkville: Stoops to Nuts," was chosen by The New York Times for their Blog Roll in 2008. Thomas appeared on PBS's "Baseball: A New York Love Story," NBC’s "New York Nonstop,” “This American Life,” and TV’s “Impractical Jokers.” His newspaper column ran in Our Town and The West Side Spirit and his weekly radio show was featured on the Centanni Broadcasting Network. For five years, Thomas curated a monthly storytelling show, “City Stories: Stoops to Nuts,” at the Cornelia Street Café that Time Out Magazine, The New York Daily News and CBS News praised. His photography portfolio, "River to River - New York Scenes From a Bicycle," was published in 2012 (YBK). Cornelia Street Cafe hosted an exhibition of his photography. NBC TV, New York Press/Our Town Downtown and NY 1 TV highly recommended the exhibit and his portfolio. His passion is preserving the history of Yorkville and the Upper East Side through storytelling, writing and photography. His multi-media show about the neighborhood, “City Boy” previews tonight. You can view and purchase his New York City prints online at Thomas R. Pryor Photography.