Lost and Found

I originally posted this over at the New York Nobody Sings at the end of March. I loved it, still do, and reader response was hugely underwhelming. Despite that, I felt it worthy of reposting it here:

Last weekend I discovered the wonderful radio series, Selected Shorts, that seems to be a cooperative effort between NPR and Symphony Space here in NYC. I had turned on the radio and heard the voice of Alec Baldwin reading Colson Whitehead's "Lost and Found" - a wonderful piece on life & living in New York - and was immediately captivated. The story was originally published in the NY Times Magazine in November 2001. This should be required listening (or reading) for every citizen of this mighty metropolis.

“You start building your private New York the first time you lay eyes on it. Maybe you were in a cab leaving the airport when the skyline first roused itself into view. All your worldly possessions were in the trunk, and in your hand you held an address on a piece of paper. Look: there's the Empire State Building, over there are the twin towers. Somewhere in that fantastic, glorious mess was the address on the piece of paper, your first home here. — Colson Whitehead, “Lost and Found”



Podcasts of this, and past episodes are available here. Pan Am building image courtesy of the Bowery Boys.