Brandon Stanton's Blog, page 512

"Every time I turn on the TV, it’s a reality show. And...

"Every time I turn on the TV, it’s a reality show. And those ads are so damn intrusive. I’m telling you— the Judeo Christian culture is about to go down the toilet. We’re just waiting on the final flush. I’m trying to get myself booked into a nursing home before it happens."

Yesterday, I was walking through Washington Square Park when I...

Yesterday, I was walking through Washington Square Park when I noticed a small boy and his mother selling cowboy supplies. “We’re saving up for a horse," they told me. 

The boy’s name was Rumi. After speaking with Rumi’s mother, I learned that Rumi has loved horses his entire life. He has horse themed shirts, toys, and backpacks. All those things are great. But Rumi’s biggest dream is to own a horse. “You can get one for $1000!" he told me. After a full afternoon of selling cowboy supplies, he’d raised $1. He seemed a little downtrodden by the afternoon’s results, but committed to his ultimate goal.

That night, I jumped on the phone with a couple of horse experts— not Rumi’s parents— who have special expertise regarding kids who want horses. These horse experts— not Rumi’s parents— told me that having a horse is super expensive. It’s just about impossible for normal parents, especially ones who live in a small NYC apartment, and who aren’t wealthy, to provide a horse for their child. Sometimes this can be quite heartbreaking.

So I thought of a plan. Let’s send Rumi on a Wild West Adventure! With the size of the HONY audience, it’d be quite a simple thing to do. I spent all last night making phone calls, and threw in $300 to get us started. Please consider tossing a few coins in the [cowboy] hat:

http://bit.ly/133HNB1

"We met at a college convention in 1941."

"We met at a college convention in 1941."

"What was the saddest moment of your life?""When Lady Gaga...

"What was the saddest moment of your life?"
"When Lady Gaga cancelled her Born This Way tour."

"Hurry up, my leg’s starting to hurt."

"Hurry up, my leg’s starting to hurt."

I decided to drop a heavy question on him, and asked:...

I decided to drop a heavy question on him, and asked: “What’s the secret to living a good life?"

He immediately answered: “Don’t think bad thoughts."

"We’ve been married 22 years. He’s a very good man....

"We’ve been married 22 years. He’s a very good man. He feeds me, he bathes me, he pushes me around everywhere."
"How’d you meet?"
"I tripped when I was coming out of the grocery store, and dropped my bags. He picked them up."

He had the faces of several members of his family tattooed onto...

He had the faces of several members of his family tattooed onto his arms.

Some strange, beautiful artifact from an ancient time just...

Some strange, beautiful artifact from an ancient time just showed up in my inbox. I haven’t quite figured it out yet, but I think it has magical powers. 

"What was the saddest moment of your life?""When we landed in...

"What was the saddest moment of your life?"
"When we landed in Vietnam. I accidentally left my flak jacket on the plane. The commander pointed me to a pile of used ones. They were all bloodied, torn to shreds, and covered with flies. Then for the first week I was there, all I did was carry the wounded from the hospital to the tarmac, so they could be airlifted out."