Nancy Ruhling's Astoria Characters

It is the light of the sun that brings Barbara Barrow to life. Intently, she watches the flakes fall from the sky. There are no rays today. It looks as though a baker is shaking powdered sugar over an ice-skating rink. Barbara started out seeking the stage. In this winter of winters, this warm-weather woman gathers her construction-site-scarred parka around her and sighs. “If there’s a patch of sun, my face will be in it,” she says wistfully. Barbara’s interest in light…

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Michelle Koutsoubelis tap dances in the shower. She can’t help it; the running water sets her feet on fire. Miss Michelle, the owner of Cathy’s Dance Studio. Right now, she’s sitting in a swivel chair — don’t worry, she won’t be in it for long — and her 4-inch stilettos run through a routine, flying across the floor before she can stop them. She’ s wearing her everyday shoes, so the tap, tap, tap sounds like the petite prancing of a miniature horse. “I…

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There’s no seatbelt. Pete D’Andrea throws back his head and laughs. It’s going to be a loud, rough ride. He can’t wait to rev up the engine. Pete’s crazy for classic cars. When he does, the 1955 Chevy roars like a jet taking off from LaGuardia with Pete bouncing along for the ride. “These cars are masters of the racetrack,” he yells above the deafening noise. Pete, a lean mustached man with sad brown eyes, has been the owner of the Regal Turquoise and India…

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Sooyah Jun must get off the bed — now! It’s big and white and puffy like a cloud, and it’s so comfortable that she’s in danger of nodding off in mid-sentence. She was out late last night and the night before that and the night before that … Sooyah works in a law office. This has pretty much been going on for the last three years, ever since she started doing stand-up routines after work, and her lack of sleep is starting to catch up with her big time. Ah, the big…

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Words, words, words. When they flow from Ron Kolm‘s mouth, they are not so much a stream of consciousness as a river of remembrance. Ron — poet, editor, activist and bookseller. They twist and turn with the tides of time, swirling and rippling through the nearly seven decades of his life before he can stop them. There have been many words used to describe Ron, but poet, editor, activist and bookseller are the ones that will have to suffice. Ron, a ginger-haired giant with golden goggle…

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