Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 297

"I haven’t taken it seriously so far, but I have plenty of...

"I haven’t taken it seriously so far, but I have plenty of time."

“What’s the most heroic thing you’ve ever done?”“I was sitting...

“What’s the most heroic thing you’ve ever done?”
“I was sitting on the stoop one day, and I saw these two guys from the neighborhood sneak up behind a lady and reach into her purse. I shouted at them to stop, and they turned to me and said: ‘You better mind your own business!’ I told em’: ‘This is my business! You’re making our block look bad.”

“There was a long period when I was pretty directionless, and...

“There was a long period when I was pretty directionless, and she always had a way of putting a positive spin on things. Whenever I got down on myself, she could convince me that I was working for assholes and everyone else was an idiot.”

"I once crash landed a plane in a desert in Tunisia. I...

"I once crash landed a plane in a desert in Tunisia. I wasn’t even the pilot. The pilot got hysterical and I had to grab the controls."

"I’m not very good at science. We did an experiment in...

"I’m not very good at science. We did an experiment in class where we measured the pH of water, but I messed it up."
"What happened?"
"I spilled the water on the computer."

"I legally changed my name to Space. It’s to remind me...

"I legally changed my name to Space. It’s to remind me that the problems in your life are like stars. When you’re up close to them, they can burn you. But when you see them with space between them, they are phenomenal specks of light."
"And I changed my name to Smiles!"

ATTENTION: HONY For The Holidays is an annual tradition where we...

ATTENTION: HONY For The Holidays is an annual tradition where we match up people who have nowhere to go for Christmas with people who have an extra place, or five extra places, at their table. As someone who moved to this city without knowing anybody—- I know that holidays are the ABSOLUTE WORST. I think I spent my first Christmas Eve in New York at a 24 hour diner, because I didn’t have the money to go home. If you think you’re heading for a similar situation this Christmas, get in touch, and we’ll set you up with some great food and good company. (Don’t be shy— this doesn’t mean you don’t have any friends. It just means that circumstances have conspired against you for the holidays.)

And if you already have a happy holiday planned, please consider making room for one extra person.

HONY For The Holidays is very carefully screened and organized by my girlfriend Erin. (God bless her angelic, senior-dog-rescuing soul.) She works very hard to match people up, and makes sure that everyone is acquainted beforehand so there are no surprises. It’s a lot of work every year, so to make it easier on her, please only reply if you’ve given it some thought and are serious about participating.

Please email: honyfortheholidays@gmail.com
If you’d like a place at a table, write GUEST in the subject line
If you have a place at the table, write HOST in the subject line
Include your approximate location and a little bit about yourself!
If you can host, let us know how many people you can accommodate.
Unfortunately, we are only able to match people in NYC. (Or close by.)

Thanks everyone! Last year we had almost 100 matches and nobody had a bad experience. So take a chance and let’s make it even more awesome this year.

"She picked me up when I was hitchhiking 17 years ago. She was...

"She picked me up when I was hitchhiking 17 years ago. She was in a caravan of orange 1973 Volkswagen buses. It was the first car I saw. I wasn’t even on the right side of the road yet. If I’d have been a minute later, I’d have missed her."

"I’m trying to raise a thinking child in a world that is...

"I’m trying to raise a thinking child in a world that is constantly telling him what to believe."
"How do you do that?"
"Travel and tell the truth."

"I teach 11th grade."

"I teach 11th grade."