NYC Week Fourteen: 10 things I miss about home and school (aka rural America)

Read last week’s post here or view all other New York City posts. I’d just settled on the bench, purse and my bag of leftover food from work on my lap, one per leg. Done with work, time to wait for the F train and go home. “Meredith?” I looked up to see a familiar face, soft round featuresContinue reading “NYC Week Fourteen: 10 things I miss about home and school (aka rural America)”

When the perfect job becomes a total nightmare

Some things shouldn’t change. My first job was one that did. Last week, I posted this piece on Medium. I wrote it last semester for Advanced Creative Writing and have been holding onto it, waiting to be sure I wasn’t returning to my old job and wanting to be careful about where I shared itContinue reading “When the perfect job becomes a total nightmare”

NYC Week Eleven: False fronts

Read last week’s post here or view all other New York City posts. The Ironclad Building on Main Street in Cooperstown looks well-kept from the outside: two clean, windowed storefronts on the ground level, second- and third-floor windows surrounded by if not fresh, at least not peeling paint. You would never guess, from looking at the outside, thatContinue reading “NYC Week Eleven: False fronts”

NYC Week Six: Rejoining the workforce

Read last week’s post here or view all other New York City posts. I rose early this morning, beating the sun by a hair. Crawling out of bed, I shut off my alarm, turned on my desk lamp, and paused, sighed. 6 a.m. Day has broken.  A quick trip to the bathroom, splashing water on my face, andContinue reading “NYC Week Six: Rejoining the workforce”

NYC Week Four: Seeing the homeless

Read last week’s post here or view all other New York City posts. I wanted to give him my peanut butter sandwich. Him. The man standing directly in front of me on the 6 train, dirt under his fingernails, clothes faded and filthy. I wanted to give him my peanut butter sandwich, made with the last scrapings fromContinue reading “NYC Week Four: Seeing the homeless”

Framed: Questions with Elissa Gore

This is another piece I wrote for my internship with the Smithy Center for the Arts. Framed: Questions with Elissa Gore “Before you start peppering me with questions, can I pepper you with a couple? I like to know who I’m talking to.” Those were the first words of Elissa Gore, 62, in her interview last week. The practically-mindedContinue reading “Framed: Questions with Elissa Gore”

Pieced together: Products of Nate Katz’s obsessions

This is the final piece I wrote for my summer internship with the Smithy Center for the Arts, and probably my favorite piece from this summer. Nate Katz, 23, leans over the table, a strip of Scotch tape stretched between his thumbs. He’s focused on a small stack of paper in front of him, an inventory of someContinue reading “Pieced together: Products of Nate Katz’s obsessions”

Stronger than you think: The world of CrossFit in Cooperstown, NY

“We are the machines.” That’s the answer you’ll get if you walk into Cooperstown CrossFit (CCF) and ask about treadmills, ellipticals, or any other kind of motorized exercise equipment. Then, you’ll be asked to join in the warmup and WOD (workout of the day). By stepping inside CCF’s one-room facility at the Maple Ridge PlazaContinue reading “Stronger than you think: The world of CrossFit in Cooperstown, NY”

When I made Art Spander a sandwich

One of the benefits of my summer job (working at Danny’s Main Street Market in Cooperstown, New York) are the random fascinating people who come buy sandwiches. There are conductors who work with the Glimmerglass Opera, construction workers and delivery men, Baseball Hall of Fame employees and interns, and today, Art Spander, an award-winning sports writerContinue reading “When I made Art Spander a sandwich”