My Fight of the Century
Reflections on the 40th anniversary of the Ali/Frazier Fight
By Ben Krull
When Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier had their first heavyweight title fight, I was 11 years old and living in New York City. Even though I knew nothing about boxing, the bout would thrust me into the social tumult of the times.
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A Hothouse Survival Tale
Sweating buckets when the AC goes out during a heat wave
By Ben Krull
I turned the knob and nothing happened. Don’t panic, I told myself, as sun poured through the blinds.
It was a 90-degree Sunday earlier this summer and the window air-conditioner in my studio apartment was dead. First came denial: the four-year-old machine just needed to ease into the June heat. All it needed was some rest. Read more
The Reluctant Visitor
Memories of summer camp from two perspectives
By Ben Krull
I worked myself into a frenzy thinking about the tasty food and heartwarming reunions. But not everyone shared my enthusiasm for visiting day at summer camp.
From the ages of nine through 15, I spent my summers at Camp Scatico in upstate New York. I have wonderful memories of sleeping on sagging mattresses in un-air-conditioned bunks, where I participated in water balloon fights and laughed at fart jokes. Read more
Dissecting My Fox Fix
By Ben Krull
It’s hard on my nerves and gives me nightmares. But like a rubbernecker who gawks at a highway accident, I am unable to look away.
I am addicted to Fox News; hooked on O’Reilly, Beck and the Obama-bashing Fox and Friends morning show. But my drug of choice is Sean Hannity. Read more
A True Believer Believes Again
The acquittal earlier this month of Manhattan Surrogate Nora Anderson, of charges stemming from her successful 2008 judicial campaign, was more than just a victory for the accused. It was also a reprieve for Democrats like myself, who have an almost religious belief in the sanctity of Manhattan’s judicial election process.
Anderson was accused of skirting New York’s $33,122 campaign donation limit by accepting $250,000 in loans and gifts from her law partner, and funneling the money into her primary campaign. The jury bought Surrogate Anderson’s argument that her maneuver could be interpreted as being legal under New York’s murky campaign finance law—a verdict that has allowed the suspended Surrogate to take the bench. Read more
Bag Ladies
New York has become a city of bag ladies—especially during rush hour.
While I once commuted amid unobtrusive pocketbooks, nowadays subways are packed with women carrying duffle-sized satchels, leather backpacks and cavernous totes. It is commonplace to see these bags carried in combination: an oversized satchel hanging from the shoulder, a knapsack strapped to the back and a hand clutching a purse. As a hard-core evolutionist, I predict that future generations of females will be born with a kangaroo-type pouch, because of all the bag-schlepping today’s women do. Read more
Hard Times on the Hardwood
The “city game” isn’t what it used to be. The Knicks are on course for another losing season, and it has been years since a local college team has made the NCAA tournament, much less contended for a national championship.
New York’s basketball picture wasn’t always so bleak. The five boroughs were once as well known for basketball as they were for bagels and nightlife. Read more
My Adult Fantasy League
You may think that turning 50 has made my fantasies about playing Major League Baseball a bit implausible. But I perform like an athlete half my age.
While my studio apartment is too crowded with breakable objects for me to swing a bat like I once did in my spacious childhood bedroom, I still dive on my carpeting, snagging screaming line drives and lay down perfect squeeze bunts using my toilet plunger as my bat. Read more
Since ’69
While 2009 marks the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, man on the moon and the Miracle Mets, it is has also been four decades since my 10th birthday, making me reflect on how childhood has changed since then.
Gone: the anticipation of waiting for your favorite movie to appear on television. My favorite was The Wizard of Oz, which was broadcast once a year. Every morning of the week The Wizard was scheduled to air, my father would sing songs from the movie, working me into a frenzy. One year a rainbow appeared the afternoon the film played, and I was certain it was a message from the heavens. Today’s children have DVDs of their favorite movies, so watching them is no longer a special event. Read more
Fifty is My New Sixty
I recently turned 50. In other words, I am FIFTY; the BIG FIVE-0; the age when there are MORE YESTERDAYS THAN TOMORROWS! To mark this milestone of my dance with mortality, I went for a physical. Since I lap-swim and watch my diet, I was sure to ace it.
After taking my blood pressure, administering an EKG, drawing a blood sample and poking me all over, my doctor, Craig Warschauer, gave me his verdict: “Your EKG is abnormal.” Read more
