Photo bomb
Before the term “photobomb” was coined, Billy and I were invited to a post-Grammy party at the Four Seasons Restaurant in NYC. We lived there then–me at APA and Billy at Goldman-Sachs–on the 33rd floor in an apartment building with an unobstructed view of the World Trade Center. The place was packed, we were drunk, […]
Myanmar Bike Ride
If I was back in the US, I’d have gone to the emergency room immediately, but here, I was afraid to even use tap water to clean the wound. So I cleaned the deep angry gash with bottled water, put some Neosporin under a few cotton balls and wrapped it up in gauze that the […]
MTM
I only saw her for a second, but I’ll never forget when she looked straight at me, smiled a famous smile, and said hello. My old friend, Marc, let me crash at his apartment on 72nd between Central Park West and Columbus while I looked for a place for Billy and me to live. It […]
Essaouira
Orson Welles made Essaouira world famous when he filmed Othello in this bleached white fortress that’s stood guard for centuries against possible invaders from the Atlantic. The entire town is punctuated by weathered wooden cobalt blue doors. It’s gorgeous. Mustafa’s herd of camels is nine strong, all looked well-tended, and I rode on Lawrence of […]
Cab ride
I grabbed the cab that was stopped at the light, a block from the restaurant in the East Village where I’d just had dinner with two old friends. I threw my gym bag, which weighs as much as a toddler, ahead of me onto the back seat, closed the door, and told the driver my […]
Borneo
The British colonized Api Api, an exotic port on the South China Sea and named it Jesselton at the dawn of the 20th century. During WWII, the Japanese seized control for its strategic geography until the Allied Forces bombed it into rubble and what was left, the Japanese burned to destroy any evidence. Only four […]
Bogota
Buffet sushi in Bogota. Raise your hand if you think that’s a good idea. What? No one? I’m always so careful with what I eat on trips. Cheese and french fries and scrambled eggs. Oh, and pasta with cheese. You can find that stuff almost anywhere, right? But while I was reading up on my […]
Bob Slobbers and that last shot
We met Bob Slobbers at an adoption fair held in a pet store a few miles from our house. The dogs were set up in a semi-circle, almost like a therapy group, in front of their individual crates. Billy and I split up strolling around, reading their brief bios in front of them. I found […]
Joe Schmo
Within an hour of meeting Joe Franciosi, he took his glass right eye out and showed me. There wasn’t a lot of filter with Joe, one of his most endearing qualities. Kid-like in the best possible way, he was also a programming genius who was the first (only?) guy to put pro wrestling on the […]
Grandma’s Cheeseburger
The small coffee can filled with bacon grease that sat on back of Grandma’s old gas stove always lent the kitchen the smell that breakfast could be right around the corner. She’d begin every meal with a teaspoon of it thrown into a black cast iron skillet, and the two-bedroom house would come alive as […]