The Soul Worker

Eleni Petraki used to be a dancer. There’s not a bit of regret in her voice when she talks about bowing out of the profession. Eleni’s a former dancer. For it was the physicality of movement that led her to the mind-body connection that transformed her life by leaps and bounds. The excitement her legs in flight once brought her now blazes in her eyes. Their windows are neon blue and oceans deep. Eleni, who grew up in Athens, Greece, saw dance in general and ballet in particular as a…

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The Cigar Aficionado

Every time Tomas Hinojal lights a cigar, he thinks of his father. He’s puffing on a Davidoff, savoring the smoke as it covers his face like a ski mask. Tomas gets ready to light a Davidoff. Sometimes it’s better to view things through a smokescreen, at least that’s what Tomas has taught himself to believe. Tomas and his father never shared a cigar, much less a life together. It wasn’t just that God parted them when Tomas was only 17. No, Tomas had been abandoned since long…

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The Caterer to the Stars

The snow-white truck is shiny new so Jonathan Forgash has to show it off. The star of his three-vehicle catering fleet, it has a double set of windows, industrial ovens, a slew of work stations and a built-in grill. He runs his hand along the kitchen’s stainless steel counter and smiles at his reflection. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would get to take this dream machine along for the ride of his life, serving celebrities and crews on TV and film sets. Jonathan, the owner of…

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The Guy With Smoke in His Eyes

It is while peering through the smoke that Ibrahim Amer sees things clearly. His cigar, resting in an ashtray like a sunbather in a lounge chair, is smoldering when he picks it up for a puff. Ebi is the owner of Havana Puff. Ibrahim, who is known as Ebi, is the owner of Havana Puff, Astoria’s only cigar lounge. He started smoking on the sly when he was 10, but that was cigarettes. He’s from Alexandria, Egypt, and at that time, the tobacco’s flame was such hot stuff that it made…

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The Forgotten Hero

When Nick Pavlou shakes hands, he offers his right one. But he can’t let it let go of his cane, so the most he can manage is a feeble three-finger touch. For nearly two decades, his left arm has hung, useless, at his side. If you don’t recognize his face — there’s a wicked scar that runs from his left eyebrow and over his forehead to the back of his head — you may recall his name. Nick is the guy who made headlines as the Hard-Hat Hero in October 1996 when he risked…

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