Author: ruhlwrite

The day is as steamy as the tea Sophie Kempner is sipping. Imbibing it is part ritual, part thirst. And it’s Sophie. Sophie grew up on a farm in England. Sophie, you see, is from England, and she brought this old-fashioned, stereotypically British habit all the way across the Atlantic with her. It makes her feel a little closer to home. Home was Chesham, a bucolic market town an hour’s train ride from London. Sophie and her two sisters — she’s the one in the middle —…

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She’s traveled all over the world, but today, and nearly every day, the longest journey that Anastasia Damianeas will take is from her home to her office. It’s more than 30 miles from Melville, Long Island to Hermes Travel, which puts Nancy, the nickname she goes by, on the road for about an hour each way when there’s no traffic or good weather, which is never. Nancy and her mother run Hermes Travel. Hermes is a mom-and-daughter travel agency that has stayed in the same location,…

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There’s not much to see in Korsa K. Nzidee‘s office because he’s just moved into it. Korsa is from Nigeria. His black granite-topped desk, which takes up most of the shoebox-sized space, is appointed with nothing more than a laptop and a small statue of a charging bull. The bookshelves are bare save for a half dozen awards and plaques, and the mini closet in the corner is crammed with three empty hangers. Korsa is proud to call it his own. He worked a long time in the corporate…

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The cane, shiny like a sword, doesn’t bother Konstantinos Pylarinos that much. He’s learned to shuffle slowly with it on one side and his daughter Penny on the other. Konstantinos owns Byzantion Woodworking. It’s not his feet that he’s worried about. It’s his hands. After the stroke struck him in his 71st year, he couldn’t carve any more, and that hurt transcends the physical pain. Konstantinos, the owner of Byzantion Woodworking, started whittling when he was…

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Just when you think you’ve heard everything odd about Astoria, Marie Carter starts telling stories. Marie’s a tour guide for Boroughs of the Dead. Did you know that the ghost of Roaring Twenties matinee idol Rudolph Valentino downs martinis in The Astor Room? Have you seen the pregnant shrouded spirit who floats around 34th Avenue at 44th Street? And have you ever had a close encounter with the garroting ghost of Old Astoria Village? Marie’s a freelance writer and editor. He strangled…

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