Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 361

"My son worked on the 91st floor of the North Tower. The whole...

"My son worked on the 91st floor of the North Tower. The whole family came over to my apartment and gathered around the TV. When we saw the building come down, we all looked at each other, and said: ‘That’s it.’"

He seemed a bit intimidated when I approached him, and nodded...

He seemed a bit intimidated when I approached him, and nodded meekly when I asked for his photo. Then he stepped back, paused for a second, and did this. He held the pose for about ten seconds, snapped back to normal, then continued on his way.

"We were twenty-five and twenty-eight, but we acted like fifteen...

"We were twenty-five and twenty-eight, but we acted like fifteen year olds. Fighting over little things, storming off, breaking up for a week and then getting back together. But developmentally, we were fifteen year olds. We’d been in the closet our whole lives, so we didn’t have any practice with relationships. He still hadn’t come out to his family and a lot of his friends. We were on one of our ‘little breaks’ when he died suddenly from a seizure. And nobody in his family or circle knew I existed. It took me four months to find out that he died. I thought he’d just decided never to talk to me again. His family never found out about me. Or him, for that matter."

"I’m reading a classic piece of fantasy literature about a...

"I’m reading a classic piece of fantasy literature about a mercenary company in a sorcery world. I’m actually the treasurer of the Gay Geeks of New York club. Hey! Could you promote our trivia night? It’s tonight at Rock Bar at 7 PM. There’s all kinds of geek trivia: fantasy, gaming, anime, animation, sci-fi, stuff like that. Wait until I tell our PR Director about this. I’m gonna rub his nose in it. It’s gonna be awesome."

"What was the happiest moment of your life?""When I turned...

"What was the happiest moment of your life?"
"When I turned 30."
"Why’s that?" 
"I just felt like I’d made it through the crap."

"She got pregnant with another man, then asked me to be the...

"She got pregnant with another man, then asked me to be the godfather."

"I found him in the trash. I named him Shadow because he...

"I found him in the trash. I named him Shadow because he followed me everywhere."

"I’m 33 and I still work as a bartender. To make it worse,...

"I’m 33 and I still work as a bartender. To make it worse, my brother is a world renowned chemist. So when my father talks to people at weddings, he says: ‘My son just got a million dollar grant. And my daughter lives in New York.’ The thing is, I used to be such an overachiever. I skipped the last two years of high school. I got a full ride to college, but ended up dropping out. I don’t know what happened. I keep telling myself I’m saving up to go back to school, but I don’t have any savings. I don’t know, I just feel very lame all the time. Don’t make me sound too lame."

"Every time I get a job, they’re like: ‘Do this...

"Every time I get a job, they’re like: ‘Do this now.’ 
And I’m like: ‘I don’t want to.’ 
And they’re like: ‘You have to. It’s your job.’
And I’m like: ‘Oh yeah. Shit.’”

"What’s your best quality?""My body."

"What’s your best quality?"
"My body."