Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 420

"We met 48 years ago at a Halloween party.""Do you remember the...

"We met 48 years ago at a Halloween party."
"Do you remember the costumes you were wearing?"
"We were the only two not wearing costumes, actually."

"I have a special needs brother who just moved out of the house...

"I have a special needs brother who just moved out of the house today. It’s the first time I’ve really been alone. And to be honest, I can’t say whether I’m sad or relieved."

"I want to be an animal rescuer.""Why do you want to rescue...

"I want to be an animal rescuer."
"Why do you want to rescue animals?"
"Because they’re soft and cuddly."

"We’d been having a sort of tacit conversation about it...

"We’d been having a sort of tacit conversation about it for a couple years. Then one day, his sister, who already knew, was teasing him about having a crush on a boy at school. And I heard him say: ‘Well, maybe it’s true!’ So I said: ‘Son, we’ve never really talked about this. Are you gay?’ And even though he was 6’4”, he came over to me, curled up in my lap and just sobbed and sobbed. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life, actually.”

"We dated in high school, but just recently got back...

"We dated in high school, but just recently got back together."
"What happened in high school?"
"I sort of disappeared on him. I had to leave school suddenly because I was pregnant."
"But he wasn’t the father?"
"No."
"So where’s the dad now?”
"I’m not going to be the kind of mom who makes her daughter’s dad out to be a monster, but I eventually decided that it wasn’t my job to force anybody to be a father."
"Tell me one thing that you weren’t taught that you’re going to teach your daughter."
"That just because you love someone, doesn’t mean they can make you happy. And you should never compromise with your happiness."
"So what did you compromise?"
"I compromised everything about myself to try to keep my family together."

"I wish I’d partied a little less. People always say...

"I wish I’d partied a little less. People always say ‘be true to yourself.’ But that’s misleading, because there are two selves. There’s your short term self, and there’s your long term self. And if you’re only true to your short term self, your long term self slowly decays."

"I’m writing a novella that I’m hoping to get...

"I’m writing a novella that I’m hoping to get published."
"What’s it about?"
"It’s about these two kids from Seattle, who sneak out of the house early in the morning and take a 5 AM bus to Portland."
"What happens after that?"
"I don’t know. But that’s kind of the point."

"It took me getting into a lot of fights before I was diagnosed...

"It took me getting into a lot of fights before I was diagnosed with PTSD. I have something called ‘hypervigilance.’ I get really nervous around people. Especially people from the Middle East."
"What were some traumatic things that happened to you?"
"I was in a vehicle when a mortar round exploded in front of us, and we fell into the crater and got trapped. There was a burning oil rig near us, so it was like being in a microwave. And we couldn’t get out. And I also saw a lot of hanky shit. Mostly from our side. Everyone was really revved up from 9/11. We did a lot of bad things. I saw decapitations, and that was our guys doing it."
"What happened?"
"We were supposed to bring POW’s back to the base. But instead we gave them a cigarette to calm them down, and told them to get on their knees. One of our guys was 240 lbs, and he’d taken this shovel we’d been issued, and he’d sharpened one of the sides until it was like an axe, and he could take off somebody’s head with two hits."
"How many times did you see that happen?"
"Three."

"I’m doing a photo project on women who wear the hijab in...

"I’m doing a photo project on women who wear the hijab in creative ways. My thought is that challenges and restrictions make us more creative."

You can see the results of her project here: Sara Shamsavari

"I just organized a meet-up for fans of my favorite webcomic,...

"I just organized a meet-up for fans of my favorite webcomic, Homestuck."
"Do you have any interest in writing comics?"
"My sister and I have tossed around a few ideas."
"What’s one of your ideas?"
"What if Spiderman…. went to Comic Con?"