Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 368

She was answering my questions in English, while speaking to her...

She was answering my questions in English, while speaking to her mother in Japanese, so I remarked how impressive it was that she spoke two languages already. “Well her father is Russian,” said the mom, “so she speaks that too.”

"I grew up in the Bahamas. One summer I took a tour of the...

"I grew up in the Bahamas. One summer I took a tour of the United States, and it gave me a lot of perspective on the role that my home has played in my life. I got this tattoo at the end of the tour, to represent those realizations."

"My mother had a painting of herself hanging in the living room,...

"My mother had a painting of herself hanging in the living room, if that tells you anything. She always thought she knew the best for everyone. If she gave you money or gifts, you’d soon learn that she was buying admission into your life. I’d never accept anything from her. If she paid for the flowers at your wedding, for example, she’d feel entitled to comment on the rest of your arrangements. It was so clear to her how everyone else should be living their life. I made a lot of bad decisions in life— just to keep her from getting her way."
"Do you resent her?"
"Sure I do. We never had a conversation that wasn’t part of her agenda."

"I’ll push kids out of the way to take my photo with a...

"I’ll push kids out of the way to take my photo with a Disney character."

"1027 days, 1 hour, and 44 minutes until retirement."

"1027 days, 1 hour, and 44 minutes until retirement."

"Check it out. I’ve got your book on my iPad! I thought...

"Check it out. I’ve got your book on my iPad! I thought you might be around here. A few minutes ago, some old guy reported that some guy was trying to take his picture for some website."

"What’s your greatest struggle right now?""Job security. I...

"What’s your greatest struggle right now?"
"Job security. I had one job for eighteen years, and right as I was starting to get lulled into a sense of security, I got laid off. The next job I had for two years, then I got laid off again. At my new job, I’m not even listed as an ‘employee.’ I’m listed as a ‘consultant.’ So it would be very easy to get rid of me. And one of my kids is about to start college."

"What do you feel most guilty about?""Probably not being able to...

"What do you feel most guilty about?"
"Probably not being able to give my children much stability when they were younger, because of my poor choices. I had her when I was nineteen. We were changing apartments every year. She really wasn’t able to bond with anyone her age because we were moving so much."

"Do you remember the happiest moment of your life?""One time...

"Do you remember the happiest moment of your life?"
"One time back in 73’, I went to see a show at the Village Vanguard by Rahsaan Roland Kirk. He was amazing. He could play three saxophones at one time. I went to his last set of the night, and I got there early and found him sitting at the bar. I went up to him and asked if I could join him on stage for a song, but he told me that he wouldn’t have the time. ‘If you change your mind,’ I told him, ‘I’ll be sitting in the front row corner.’ I told him exactly where I’d be because he was blind. Then right at the end of the show, he started waving toward my table. I got up there and started playing, and at one point he motioned for the whole band to stop, and I got to play a solo up on the stage. Everyone was clapping for me. I rode home on the subway that night feeling like a king. Feeling like I could play with anyone in the world."

"He can tell you things that happened two or three years ago. He...

"He can tell you things that happened two or three years ago. He can tell you the five largest moons of Saturn, and the distance from the Earth to the Sun. He can recite songs word for word. But early on, we noticed that he’d get very emotional around loud noises— like a blow dryer or loud birthday parties. He’d also get overwhelmed around things in motion. He had a very bad experience in an inflatable jumper at a party. We noticed these things early, identified that he was on the autism spectrum, and got him in therapy. We’ve been working hard on it with intensive therapy from a very young age, and we’re so much better. We still have some issues, but I think we’re outgrowing the symptoms. I tell everyone who will listen: ‘Early intervention, early intervention, early intervention.’"