Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 408

"Do you remember the time you felt most sad?""When mom and dad...

"Do you remember the time you felt most sad?"
"When mom and dad separated."
"Why did mom and dad separate?"
"Because they kept screaming on each other."

"Do you remember the most frightened you’ve ever...

"Do you remember the most frightened you’ve ever been?"
"When I thought I’d have to raise my son alone. His father and I weren’t getting along."
"Sounds like you worked things out with the father?"
"No. The fear just went away when I learned I could do it on my own."

"He just tried to get his tennis ball off the roof by telling...

"He just tried to get his tennis ball off the roof by telling the doorman it was signed by Roger Federer."

"What’s your greatest struggle right now?""Dining with my...

"What’s your greatest struggle right now?"
"Dining with my daughter."
"Dining with your daughter?"
"She has an eating disorder. So she avoids every situation that involves eating with the family."

"Is this your dad?""He’s my dad-ish.""What does dad-ish...

"Is this your dad?"
"He’s my dad-ish."
"What does dad-ish mean?"

"… it means her mother and I have a mortgage."

"I had a really bad shrink once. He got me to quit my job by...

"I had a really bad shrink once. He got me to quit my job by convincing me that my back pain was caused by a subconscious desire to spend more time with my kids. Then he tried to sexually assault me."

"My dad lived in Newark, so he’d pick me up on the...

"My dad lived in Newark, so he’d pick me up on the weekends and I’d go stay with him. But since he didn’t really get along with my mom, he’d never come over to the house. Whenever his train arrived, he’d just call and I’d go to the station to meet him. But one weekend he was three hours late. I tried to call his phone but he didn’t pick up, so I assumed he wasn’t coming and left to see a movie with my friends. I guess his train showed up a few minutes later. Because my mom said he called as soon as I left. When I finally got in touch with him, we got in a big fight. He was mad that I’d gone to see the movie. He said I didn’t care about him or love him. That was on Saturday. Late Sunday night, I got up to go the bathroom, and found my stepdad and mom crying in the kitchen. They couldn’t even tell me he’d been murdered. They just said that ‘something happened to someone in Jersey.’ I asked if it was my aunt. Then my cousins. Then my grandma. And my mom just kept shaking her head. I went down the entire list of people in Jersey before getting to my dad. And with each name I said, I got more and more scared, cause I knew what had happened."

"He sings to each of his kids individually when it’s time...

"He sings to each of his kids individually when it’s time for them to go to bed."

"I’m going to be a basketball player. Or a taxation...

"I’m going to be a basketball player. Or a taxation lawyer."

"I went to a rural high school in Pennsylvania. Nobody from my...

"I went to a rural high school in Pennsylvania. Nobody from my town had gone to an Ivy League school in 20 years. So when I got accepted to MIT, I had this feeling of being so far behind everyone else. I chose to major in Chemistry, because I felt that was my best chance of keeping up. Don’t get me wrong, I love Chemistry, but I think I’d have been a great doctor."