Robert StGenis Voice empowered

In my post  Being a Junior , I discuss two "washed-up hookers" to whom I would bring doughnuts and coffee daily when I briefly stayed with my Father at an apartment on 79th and 2nd Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. New York had a homeless crisis with mass numbers of unsheltered people and the city was at the early stages of gaining any control over the crisis, one which they were forced into addressing after the settling of a lawsuit  Callahan v. Care y in 1981. In that consent decree, the City and State agreed to provide shelter and board to all homeless men who met the need standard for welfare or who were homeless “by reason of physical, mental, or social dysfunction.” Thus the decree established a right to shelter for all homeless men in New York City, and also detailed the minimum standards which the City and State must maintain in shelters, including basic health and safety standards. In addition, Coalition for the Homeless was appointed monitor of shelters ...

Bruce Springsteen became a huge iconic figure during the 1980s. He was already a successful musician but his  Born in The USA Tour  really made him a household name everywhere. In New Jersey, he is patron Saint to this day. I remember people for years raving about the fact that if you went to The Stone Pony, a bar in what was largely desolate and deteriorating Asbury Park at the time, Springsteen might stop in for a jam session. I never went to The Stone Pony , however. I seem to recall trying to go once but it had a huge line. That and I think I was a little leery of using my fake ID there. I had no concerns using it in New York City just about anywhere, but a bar down the shore, especially "the bar" in many ways at that time, I thought was taking too much of a risk.  I do also vaguely recall that some friend or perhaps Laura and I went and sought out his once former home in Long Branch at some point while I was attending Morristown High School. Although Spri...

Most recently, I've been writing almost exclusively on my junior and senior years of high school. While laws and in turn, parents, were more permissive, my experiences were not the ordinary; good, bad and otherwise up for discussion. The 80s were all about excess and our generation probably screwed it up for future ones, or saved you, depending on how you look at it. There were a great deal of questions about testimony given and statements during the hearings... I thought it was highly questionable then, all the more now, that most people remember without a doubt who attended a high school party 30 years ago, let alone what might have gone on in a bedroom they were not in at the time. I do believe and have had experiences where certain things stand clearly in my mind. If you read Being a Junior , I remember that the guy that entered my bathroom stall had a classic London Fog or similar rain coat and black or dark brown curly hair. I remember I had a patchwork patterned sweater w...

I don't even recall exactly how Laura and I rented a cabin in the Poconos, though I had a failsafe fake ID and a credit card. My parents seemed to most of the time allow me to do most things without much concern, even at 17 years old and still in high school. Laura came up from Toms River and we traveled some 75 miles or more into the Poconos in Pennsylvania. My close friend Steve in Baltimore whom I knew from the beach (in DelMarVa they refer to "the beach" while "down the shore" is purely a "Jersey thing") at the Sea Colony and his Catholic School buds were coming to the Poconos on a school trip and I was determined we would all be there. We met on February 1, 1986 or perhaps it was the Friday evening prior, January 31 which would be logical. (I only know this because I wrote it on the back of photos. I hardly have that good of memory!) Laura & Steve We all had a great time, to my best recollection, but I had to get them back to...

These photos are all tied to multiple entries telling my story through my high school years. Please takes a few minutes and first read and view:  Being a Junior ,   Summer 1986. Part One ,   Summer 1986. Part Two , Senior Year Part Two   and you may also wish to read and view: Senior Year. Part One ,  It Gets Better and  Brett Kavanaugh to get a more complete "picture" of my journey through this period of mine in the 80s. I promise you'll find it at least somewhat entertaining, sometimes perhaps a bit surprising or even shocking and even possibly insightful. Our vacation rental, though we used terms like "beach house" or "summer home" was in the tennis community, which was across from the high-rises on the ocean at the Sea Colony. This picture wasn't ours, but almost identical and on the same street. Like any development, there were only a few varying styles. These are typically 2 bedroom, 2 bath units with a deck. They are one floor units...

This will not mean much unless you first read: Summer 1986. Part Two. In Liberty & Reality The lower right photo shows 2 bad decisions on my part. A horrible perm and smoking. I first started smoking as a freshman in Cross Country when my friend and I would sneak into the woods and smoke during a run. A few of us also tried chewing tobacco while cycling in the same period. Difference then, at my private school, they simply had designated smoking areas for students. We were told it was bad, not that we couldn't under any circumstance. Meanwhile, the video below was being shown during the school year in NYC public schools. It most definitely was not in the Morris School District.

Please also read: Summer 1986. Piers & The Cure. Being a Junior Along with any and all other the rest of my posts. I greatly welcome your feedback. Post anonymously, that is more than fine. I would love to hear from you!  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Statue of Liberty was given to the United States as a gift from France in 1886.  Liberty Weekend , the 100th anniversary, was to be a spectacular weekend and I must say, while I was incredibly fortunate in my circumstances throughout that weekend, I have never had any other experience yet that left quite such an indelible impression. New York and New Jersey were in a turf war starting before I moved to the East Coast in 1985 with New Jersey claiming that Liberty Island was actually in New Jersey waters. They ultimately lost this war and as huge an advocate as I am for New Jersey, this one was bullshit. New York made ...