Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 425

"The happiest moment of my life was when my daughter was born....

"The happiest moment of my life was when my daughter was born. The second happiest moment was when I made this jacket."

"I had a couple of plans, I felt like my life was going uphill....

"I had a couple of plans, I felt like my life was going uphill. But by the time I was nineteen, my son was here."

"What’s your favorite thing about being a...

"What’s your favorite thing about being a grandmother?"
"Laughing."
"What’s the most she’s ever made you laugh?"
"She just loves using her big words. Everything to her is ‘beeaaauuutttiiiful’ or ‘woooonnnddddeeerrful’ or ‘faaaannntttaaasstic.’"

"I grew up in the Bahamas. When I was young, I worked in a hotel...

"I grew up in the Bahamas. When I was young, I worked in a hotel where all the old stars used to come. I served Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Yul Brenner… you name it. One time I brought Lee Marvin room service, and he tipped me with a pair of 14 carat gold cufflinks."

The HONY Book just quietly spent its 18th consecutive week on...

The HONY Book just quietly spent its 18th consecutive week on the NYT bestseller list. This feat was achieved by clinging to the bottom of the list like a frightened barnacle, while the whales battle it out for the top spots. Anyway, it’s been several weeks since I mentioned the book on the blog. (Hope you noticed, I try.) So for all you newcomers: there’s a HONY book. It’s freaking awesome. And it’s been dominating the absolute bottom of the bestseller list. Like a barnacle. 

AMAZON: http://amzn.to/1gy0gQX
BARNES AND NOBLE: INDIEBOUND: http://bit.ly/1nWvwbk

"He gave me this suit for free, this jacket for ten dollars, and...

"He gave me this suit for free, this jacket for ten dollars, and these shoes for ten dollars."
"Who did?"
"God!"

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

"What was the happiest moment of your life?"
"When I graduated from basic training in the Air Force."
"What was the toughest part of basic training?"
"Probably just putting mind over matter. Some people take it too personally when they’re getting yelled at. You have to take a step back and say: ‘It’s part of the training. These people don’t know me.’"

"I want to be a history writer. The challenge with writing about...

"I want to be a history writer. The challenge with writing about history is finding the right mix of artistry and facts. If you only write facts, it’s way too dull. History can be very poetic."
"What do you think is the most poetic thing about history?"
"One theme is the struggle of man against nature. There’s the belief that the further man gets from nature, the more civilized he becomes. Cities are the culmination of this idea, with all the art and intellectual traditions that have come out of cities."
"Do you believe that man becomes more civilized the further he gets from nature?"
"No. Because no matter what you build around you, you can’t escape your ape nature. Look at Nazi Germany. All their amazing technology and buildings were put in service of their most uncivilized instincts."

"What was the happiest moment of your life.""My first day of...

"What was the happiest moment of your life."
"My first day of school."
"Why was that?"
"Because I got to meet new people."
"Who was the best person you met?"
"My teachers."

"What’s the most frightened you’ve ever been?""When...

"What’s the most frightened you’ve ever been?"
"When a German shell exploded near me and shot a fragment through my chest."