Backstory
I Remember
It's been six years since we lost the New York that was, but today we all remember. Yet, it's also important to move on. Life is for the living, after all. So here's to life after--and on--9/11.
Backstory
Backstory
The Point of No Return
Last month, I accepted the job offer of my life in New York City. Today, I turned it down. At long last, I admit it. I am hopelessly in love with Chicago. I'm staying right here.
Backstory
In NYC: Stomping Grounds
I don't remember being here, yet nothing ever changes here. I've spent almost four weeks staying with friends in New York City; it's almost as if I've already moved and settled in. So much has changed in the four-and-a-half years that I've been away. Funky neighborhoods have become Establishment whi
Backstory
Gay and Lesbian Youth of New York (GLYNY)
In the late 1980s, I joined a group of people who came together to survive. A large, proud group of gay and lesbian adolescents who met every Saturday in Greenwich Village, New York, and talked things out. Beginning in 1969 and continuing for more than thirty years, Gay and Lesbian Youth of New York
Backstory
Downgraded
As I begin work on the 7 Days @ Minimum Wage video project, I keenly remember when I first moved to the Windy City in 2003. I moved midwest on the shaky strength of a job offer that shook apart just as I was arriving. Now here I was, with an urban planning masters degree, without an apartment, and w
Backstory
I Remember
You have better things to do today than to read a post from me. There are far more important people in your life and you know you've been taking them for granted. Yes, I'm talking to you. Now get off the Internet, pick up the phone, and tell them so. No, I'm not kidding.
Backstory
"On 9/11 I Lost New York"
The headline a quote from my old New York friend, Sarah Massey, and one that speaks to my experience, as well. I rarely dote on that day. It's been years since I stood on the Brooklyn Heights Esplanade at dusk, candle in hand, surrounded by thousands of my neighbors, mourning. I felt no need to watc
Backstory
A Public in Civility
Recently, my Korean foodie friend, ('I don't freaking look like Margaret Cho!') Rozella, and I were discussing what we liked about Chicago. Unlike me, Rozella's a native, and we both stay here for different reasons. Rozella wants to be close to her family. I'm here simply because strangers say 'hi'
Backstory
Reading My Way into Why
I'm reading my way through Jack Kerouac, his Beat contemporaries, and other authors who had something to say about unexpected journeys through life. I'm trying to get a handle on mine. I'd love to figure out how I ended up a Chicagoan.