Posts by Benjamin
All The Small Things
“It’s time,” Abbie said. I tiptoed into the bedroom, and squinted through the darkness until my eyes adjusted. Maggie came into focus just a few feet before me, motionless in her bassinet. She was swaddled like a papoose, her lips curled into a heart-shape. I slid my right hand beneath her back, my left beneath…
Read MoreThe Velvet Hammer
Finally, I get to be the hero for once. For two weeks running, Maggie and I had it made. I’d wake her softly at the crack of dawn, bottle feed her, then take a long, slow stroll around the neighborhood until she slipped off to sleep. Everybody won: Abbi slept, Maggie ate, and I gained…
Read MoreJeff Jacobson’s Abatab
I first met my pal Jeff Jacobson at singer/songwriter Casey Shea’s wedding. He was sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with chanteuse Amy Hills. I sat down and slipped right into their conversation, one that continues to this day. Jeff has a thoughtful demeanor and dry, self-effacing wit. He’s one of the best guitarists…
Read MoreSundays With Maggie
I set out like a total rookie: no sun hat, no burp towel, no bottle, not even an extra diaper. I scarcely pulled a baseball cap over my eyes and flip flops on my feet. It was just Maggie, me and a stripped-down stroller. Funny how quickly we forget. It doesn’t seem like much now,…
Read MoreHarlem River Ride
Many, many July Fourths ago, before Google Maps or Garmin GPS, before to the city’s best efforts to develop greenspaces, and well before being a husband or a father, I set out to circumnavigate Manhattan on my bike. I managed pretty well below 125th Street, but was thwarted by the vast complex of unknown bridges,…
Read MoreWake Up, Maggie (I Think I Have Something To Say To You)
Loving music led to playing music led to writing music led to performing music led to recording music. Still, I wouldn’t have bet on this. Tony, Chris, Ryan and I started recording “Forever Young” in February. The record is due in October, and benefits The Fred Rogers Center. The conceit is simple: record a bunch…
Read MoreMister Rogers, Jeff Tweedy & Me
It’s been quite the few weeks around here. As more than one person has said, “You delivered two babies in two weeks!” Of course, while I couldn’t be much prouder of “Mister Rogers & Me,” the film doesn’t hold a candle to Maggie. Nonetheless, the film’s premiere has played a roll in my three-week paternity…
Read MoreMaggie At Ten (Days)
Maggie slept through her one week birthday (the nerve!), so I decided to celebrate ten days; seemed like a good round number. Anyway, these first few days of Maggie’s life have disabused me of measurements; seconds, minutes, hours all seem to stretch and bend in this haze of feed, burp, change, repeat. And so tonight,…
Read MoreMeeting Maggie
The East River isn’t really a river at all, but a tidal strait between Manhattan and Long Island that, because of tides, appears to flow like one. New York Presbyterian Hospital soars like a great, white sail over the East River. This great, granite sheet spans several blocks of Midtown East, swallowing the FDR highway…
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