Glazed
I'm not thrilled to be the guy who taught Ethan how to use a Blackberry (though he used it constructively to take photos and email them to his grandparents).
I like to think that what came next made up for the his early introduction to corporate handcuffs.
In celebration of Ethan's fifth birthday, Abbi and I took him to lunch at our favorite diner (EJ's on Amsterdam where he had pancakes "with extra butter"), then across the street to paint-your-own-pottery purveyors, Make.
The storefront was relatively quiet for a sunny, Saturday ...
The Boys Of Summer
Ah, to be a kid in the summertime.
Remember?
Kick the can. The ice cream man. Wiffle Ball. Zinc oxide. Fireflies.
I have nothing but golden memories of summer vacation.
When I was really young, family loaded into the brown, wood-panelled Cutlass Cruiser station wagon, and travelled 561 miles to Lake Vermillion, Minnesota where we would fish, water ski, swim, and picnic.
Later, as a teenager, summer vacation came to mean Rehoboth Beach, Delaware: boogie boarding, body surfing, and endless hours at the arcade.
Good ...
Ethan’s Fifth Birthday Party
June 14th, 2008
E
Used to be that Chris would hand Ethan the phone and he wouldn't say anything at all.
Walking uptown on Amsterdam Avenue tonight, though, the conversation evolved. Significantly.
"Hi Ethan!"
"Hi Uncle Ben-be-ben!"
Now, even the worst day in the anals of bad days is remedied by "Ben-be-ben."
"How are you?"
"Fiiiiine."
"Are you eating supper with daddy?"
"Daddy put peas on da table!"
Everything's exciting when you're two-years-old. How awesome is that?
"Is mommy home yet?"
"Mommy coming hoooome now!"
"Was
...
Save The Day
Up until a minute ago, my lead was "Dave Grohl saved the day." But now it's "Ethan saved the day."
I've had a fairly shitty go of it today. Could be that I was working until midnight last night, running up and down the spiral staircase to answer IMs from work (it was the Movie Awards after all). Could be the weather. I'm way over summer already, and it's not even summer. Could be allergies; my head feels like an anvil. Or it could be, heck, I dunno', the general weight of life?
Whatever. It was the second morning (at least) where
...
Love Town
I've been a seriel dater since I was fifteen-years-old. But I've only been in love once.
I could hear Jennifer screaming and moaning down the hallway at the Elizabeth Seton Birthing Center, but I still managed to doze off in front of "Cheers." Could have been the beers. Could have been that it was well after midnight. Either way, when Christofer -- pale, drawn, and exhausted but wide-eyed -- gently woke me and said, surprised, "It's a boy," I noticed the stillness that had fallen over the place.
Moments later, he ushered me into
...
One
In his brief 365 days in the world, Ethan Baruch Wagner has not only mastered "Hi" and "By Bye," he's not only begun walking (God help us), but he's also reminded at least one 32-year-old just how precious and beautiful each moment here on Earth can be.
In an effort to honor and appreciate this 'lil guys' contributions to world peace (one cantankerous Upper West Sider at a time), I offer you my original post from 3:03 am on June 10, 2003, just a few hours after Ethan was born. Enjoy. And have a nice day.
I fell asleep watching TV in ...
Love Me If You Dare
I'm not sure I've ever really loved.
Oh sure, I've said it a few times. And I've meant it. But lately, as I plumb these depth within myself, trying to figure out just what love is, and how to know it when I'm in it, and how to sustain it for a lifetime, I'm just not so sure. And here's why: Ethan Baruch Wagner.
I know, I know: here he goes again gushing about his nephew. Hear me out.
Christofer and I sat on his rooftop yesterday silently watching Ethan drag a blue-handled broom from one end of the patio to the other. He giggled ...
Finally, My Fifteen Minutes
31-years-old, fifteen years of performing, eight years in New York City, and finally, I get my fifteen minutes. Well, my 45 seconds, anyway.
I wake up early. It's only 5 a.m., so I go back to sleep. I fall deep, deep into a dream where I'm a front-seat passenger in a Humvee barreling down a country road taking out everything in its path: a picket fence, a goat, a plastic nativity scene. And as we're about to plow into a farmhouse, I wake with a jolt.
Immediately I think, 'I'm late for the race.'
Sure enough, the clock reads 9 a.m. ...
Begining The World: Ethan Baruch Wagner
I fell asleep watching TV in the waiting room of the Elizabeth Seton Birthing Center on 14th Street, but woke suddenly when Christofer burst in and announced emphatically, "It's a boy!"
My nephew, Ethan Baruch Wagner, began the world at 12:38 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 10th, 2003.
When Chris carried him out for Jen's brother Steven and I to see, my jaw fell agape. He was barely ten minutes old. His skin was pink and fresh, his hair reddish and matted. His big, glassy blue eyes rolled around his head, unfocused but seeking. He gurgled ...
