Filed under: Personal | Tags: Dr. Herbert, Hunter, Hunter College High School, In The Heights, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Pride
At the Tony Awards two weeks ago, Lin-Manuel Miranda won best score for In The Heights. The show is moving and funny, and the score is an exciting blend of hip hop, Latin, and Broadway music. Miranda’s acceptance “speech” shows the inspiration and spirit behind the talent:
With such a big hit in his first foray onto Broadway, Miranda is a fast-rising star in his world right now, so it’s great to see him remembering and thanking those who helped him in his earlier years. In a shout-out I appreciate personally, at 1:30 in the video he thanks “Dr. Herbert for telling me, ‘You’re a writer.’” I know what he’s talking about. I, too, could thank Dr. Herbert for helping me, since I also learned from Dr. Herbert at Hunter.
For those of you who weren’t there with me, Hunter College High School is a selective public school in Manhattan. It’s run by Hunter College and is therefore administered through the City University of New York system, rather than directly by the City, as other public schools are. When I try to explain my high school to people who don’t know it, I find no explanation is satisfactory. It is truly public in ways financial: students and their families pay nothing to attend, and the school operates on a threadbare budget year after year. We had a safe building, but classrooms had half-painted walls and desks with years of graffiti. Our books were even older: many were published in the 1970s and 1980s. But Hunter had the human and intellectual resources of any school in the country, including the best private schools. Hunter was and is an incredible world of creativity and intelligence, most of which came from its 1200 students in grades seven through twelve. The school admits students based on a single test in sixth grade, which seems like an easy way to build a school of little nerds. Yet Hunter students formed the most interesting, smart, and intellectually diverse community I have known.
I’ll surely write more on my high school in the future, but Miranda’s Tony wins (In The Heights also won best musical) and his acceptance speech moved me to share the event, as well as the feeling of pride it gave me. I’m only two years out of high school, but that’s enough time to move on, and to move the experience firmly into the realm of memory. Since leaving, however, I’ve clung to Hunter, keeping strong friendships from high school and going back to visit my teachers when I can. During my last visit in May, I only caught Dr. Herbert for a minute, but I spent four hours with other teachers in the English, Social Studies, and Science department offices. And my pride in the school has only grown since graduation. I went to school with an amazing group of people. Miranda was eight years ahead of me, but I’m proud of his early achievements. Many other accomplished alums strengthen my pride in those who shaped the school before me. And I look forward to the coming years, when I will get to be proud of my classmates, those who shaped the school while I was there and, as much as anyone else, made me who I am.
Update 7/1/08: Earlier today a Hunter friend sent me this audio link, in which, about a quarter in, Max Kellerman, Hunter ‘91 and sports broadcaster, talks with Jon Daniels, Hunter ‘95 and general manager of the Texas Rangers. Not a great clip, but worth a listen for Hunter alums. They both claim to have been “king of the nerds.”
Filed under: Travel | Tags: Lima, Peru, Pisco, Tacna, Arequipa, Paracas National Reserve, Islas Ballestas, Nazca, Nazca Lines, Cusco, Inti Raymi, Machu Picchu, Inca Trail, Cities
I’ve always loved my city, but I’ve felt for years that I love cities in general. Urban life is continually exciting, even after years or decades. A walk down any busy street is a new experience, no matter how many times you’ve walked that street before. And big cities are great because they have a lot of streets.
I chose to spend most of my summer in Lima because it’s a big city: with around eight million residents, Lima is as large as New York.
Filed under: Society, Travel | Tags: Buskers, Combis, Lima, Mass transit, Peru, Public transportation, Subway
Perhaps my favorite part of the Lima experience so far are combis, the city’s quick public minibuses. In reality, combis aren’t public: each is privately owned and run for profit. But they function as the city’s primary mass transit, performing the service more effectively and as cheaply as any public transportation in the U.S. A typical combi has about 20 seats, including one next to the driver, in front of the door. The buses are old, as are most of the cars here, their exteriors are painted in bright colors, and their routes are written under the windows in the names of the districts and streets they travel: Callao Wilson Arequipa Benavides V. Salvador, for example. Rather than stopping at regular points, they pick and drop off passengers continually. And rather than allowing such frequent stops to slow the trip, passengers are expected to run to catch the combi, jumping on and off as the bus comes to a very brief stop and the fare collector shouts: “Suben, suben! Bajan, bajan!” Fares supposedly vary by distance and quality of the bus, but I’ve always dropped a single sol (about 35 cents) into the fare collector’s hand and he’s never returned change or asked for more. Though they are usually full, they rarely develop standing crowds, since the streets are teeming with them: it’s not unusual to see three or four combis in a row, or ten in a minute, along major streets.
Like much here, combis could never exist in American cities. For one thing, buses speeding down the street, competing for passengers, and making riders of all ages hop nimbly aboard would lead to bankrupting lawsuits before the end of their first rush hour on the streets. I also doubt the idea of private mass transit will catch on, even in a national wave of privatization. But why is that? I recognize the benefit to having public transportation easily regulated and with an accountable organization that answers to the people. But combis do what no buses in the U.S. seem to do: arrive quickly and move lots of people fast. The longest I’ve waited for a combi is the length of a stop light–there’s rarely a bus more than a block away–and, despite the frequent stops, combis hustle their way across town. Cabs, which range in cost by distance but have cost me between five and twelve soles ($2-$4), move no faster through the city’s heavy traffic.
In other ways, though, combis can offer tastes of home. This afternoon, a young guy got on the combi I was riding with a guitar and, a couple minutes later, began playing. Given the combi’s limited space, I was surprised that playing such a venue would be profitable for the musician, or that the driver would let the guitarist take up a valuable spot. But he played for nearly ten minutes, and he played beautifully. I don’t know the norms here, but I wanted to reward him for making my commute much more enjoyable, so I gave him a sol. And I was reminded of another powerful performance on public transportation, one which I was not lucky enough to see in person. I found this a couple months ago but it still strikes me. From beginning to end (do watch or skip to the end if you start the video), the event is a beautiful one.
Yesterday and today have really turned me around. Much of the frustration and confusion I felt a couple days ago melted away in less than twenty-four hours, thanks to a couple great events.
Last night I met with an American journalist who was helpful and generous beyond anything I expected. He’s an editor for an international wire service, and he’s been working and living in Lima for ten months. Over more than two hours that we shared in a café, he advised me on how I can do the best reporting possible while I’m here, how I can have the most fun, and what I should do to become a better (and more employable) journalist by the time I graduate. I had only asked about the first. (more…)
Filed under: Politics, Society | Tags: Billy Flynn, Chicago, Jerry Springer, prostitution
Though his show is less popular than it once was, millions of Americans still know the name Jerry Springer. Few, however, remember him as the former mayor of Cincinnati. Or the one-time candidate for governor of Ohio. And how many would believe he was once considered a rising star of the Democratic Party, a politician with every gift imaginable and heart to drive him for decades? The story of Jerry Springer is baffling and tragic. And beautifully told here, by Alex Blumberg on This American Life (segment starts 4 minutes in). If you don’t think you have 31 minutes to hear the full story of Jerry Springer, watch this campaign video and then decided whether you’re interested:
Update 7/7/09: Springer is apparently appearing as Billy Flynn in a London production of “Chicago.” My initial skepticism is only joined by disappointment after reading this review. I’d still be interested to see the performance, though.
I had hoped by the time of my first report I would have great adventures to tell of. I don’t, so let me apologize in advance for what is a pretty mundane recounting of a short week. The report is long, since I’ve tried to cover both my experiences and impressions so far, as fully as possible. And I’ve detailed the bad with the good, so if you get into it and find yourself concerned, read on or skip ahead—it gets better at the end.
