Tag Archives: New York City

December 14, 2011 · 2:38 am

“Old Friends.”

* Preface *

“I know I’ve been neglecting to post on my blog. I could hit you all with excuses about how I’ve been traveling the world and shooting since March in India, Nepal and about 7 different states here in the U.S.. I could go on and on about how time seemed to have moved so quickly because of the flights, the bus rides, the couch-hopping and the friend-visiting. I could even talk about the wonderful two months I was able to spend in California with my beautiful 10-year old daughter and how I barely had time enough to pull the trigger, let alone find a wifi signal and try to update my blog every few days. I could say all those things…but I won’t. Instead I’ll just say that ‘I’m sorry’ and that I was ‘busy’. I’m glad to be back however, thanks for being patient! As you can probably tell I’ve revamped my website. I have some snazzy new blog ideas to begin using, as well as some feature stories to write about some of the things that I’ve shot during my absence: beaches in South Carolina, MLB games, Occupy Wall Street, models, snow-covered mountains in Colorado, NCAA football games, old friends, Alcatraz, my beautiful little girl and so much more. For now however, we’ll just start off with a new series of posts…smaller, but more intimate.”

“They’ll be called: The Story Behind The Shot.”

“Enjoy.”

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(photo: Fidel Amos)

While in Union Square in NYC one Spring day in 2009, I saw an elderly woman leaning on a wall small wall, facing the grass. For a second I thought she was merely staring off into space or resting, then I realized she was motioning with her hand…holding something. I looked in the direction that she was looking and saw a beat-up, raggedy, NYC squirrel standing on his hind paws in the grass about 30 feet from her, staring back at her. I prepared my Canon (which was slung around my shoulder) ready to shoot the interaction between them, trying to figure out a way to squeeze them both into the same frame. Suddenly the squirrel darted in her direction, quickly (yet politely) snatched the peanut from her by-then outstretched hand  and ran up into a tree.

By the time he go to her I had approximately 1/2 a second to pull the trigger…it’s a fraction off focus, but it came out rather nice.

A casual onlooker might think this was just a case of an elderly woman feeding a nut to a squirrel…as she might bread to pigeons on her stoop, or apples to a mounted officer’s horse. Judging by the condition of the squirrel, the familiar way in which it seemed to notice her and head in her direction and the simple fact that she was motioning for that particular one and none of the others that were within the same distance, I like to think that she had been going there for months and that the squirrel had been expecting her…
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(Wanna hang it on your wall? It’s available via my online gallery on Society6.com. Click the photo below to find out more…)

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April 9, 2011 · 12:59 am

“Just Like That…Your Wallet’s In The Mail.”

A little while ago my mind was blown.

I found myself enjoying the regular, run of the mill, average, old, everyday grind…when out of nowhere, my wallet arrived in the mail. Now it wasn’t the fact that my wallet was actually in the mail and not on my physical person that surprised the hell out of me.

You see, because last week (I believe it was thursday) I stupidly left my wallet inside of a taxi cab after paying for my ride (and tipping nicely if I do say so myself). Leaving one’s wallet inside of a taxi cab in this big bad apple we all call New York City is nothing new. I mean hell, I must have lost 3 wallets, $100’s of dollars, 4 cellphones, and a miniature Doberman inside of various taxicabs in the six years that I’ve been living here.

But THIS time was different…

THIS time I had just received my spankin new NY license.

THIS time the wallet was 2 days old, a small Perry Ellis perk left over in a VIP giftbag after one of the insanely expensive events hosted at my job.

THIS time I was having a bad day, week, month…whatever period of time you wanna say it was, I was pretty pissed off.

So I cursed New York City.

That’s right my friends.

I friggin cursed this friggin piece of s**t city that keeps friggin kicking the friggin s**t out of me every friggin day when all I friggin wanna friggin do is just friggin LIVE my damn life in peace and friggin loneliness without getting the friggin piss stomped out of me every time I friggin turn the friggin corner…

…but I digress.

The point is I was mad at New York, and I couldn’t understand why after six years of ups and downs, after six years of trying and trying and trying and trying, after six years of standing up for her…she was letting me down again.

I thought to myself “No one is going to return my Perry Ellis wallet. No one is going to give a damn that it contained my money, cards, contacts, and brand spanking new NY id. No one.”

So I got over it.

I accepted it.

I took it all with a grain of salt.

I chalked it up to experience.

Whatever the hell you call it, I gave up.

And then it happened.

I checked the mail. I opened the letter that someone had ACTUALLY paid $1.06 at the post office to mail to me. I carefully checked the contents inside the wallet. I noticed that EVERY SINGLE THING was there. I smiled. I almost cried. I giggled like a little red headed schoolgirl on her first day at 1st grade in her first new red dress…

The good news is they used the current address on my new NY id to mail it to, the bad news is they put no return address…so I’ll never be able to write them back and thank them. I just have to thank them internally and keep on keepin on.

I love you beautiful stranger.

I love the fact that you went that extra mile when no one else would.

I love that you’re faceless, nameless, gender-less, race-less, but in all those seperate ways more human than most.

Thank you my friend.

And thank YOU New York.

– F

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August 6, 2010 · 4:27 am

“No 9/11 Mosque? Tough Crowd…”

I love NY, and I love the fact that it made me the New Yorker I am today.
I also love my fellow New Yorkers, and not just because they all happen to live in New York, arguably the most well known, talked about, and sought after city in the world. New Yorkers are so much more than that. They’re all from other places, which makes them the closest thing to being European/American. This, as you guys know, is exactly what I am…so I hold a personal, biased love for them.
Um, I mean us.
Us New Yorkers also have the ability to be able to tell you exactly what we’re thinking, any time of day, all day, every day, twice, in very few words…which usually start with the letter “F”. It is this brass, forward, confident, self-empowering style that caused me to immediately fall for this big, bad, Apple.
* Note: I’d like to express a personal apology to all my friends in Kansas, but just because I went to college there doesn’t mean I’ll ever claim being a Kansan. I love you guys, and it was a nice place to live during some of my formative years, but I’m only Italian, or New Yorker…no Kansan. I’ve got a NY license and everything now, get off my back!! *
…but I digress.
It is perhaps due to the intimate relationship I have with the City (NY gets the big “C”) that never sleeps that I’m exactly torn down the middle of this “mosque being built near the 9/11 site” issue. Well, that and the fact that I’m half American, and probably bleed red, white, and blue…Italian white though.

Half of me is proud of the fact that Mayor Bloomberg and “the gang” want the mosque to go up based simply on the fact that we’re America (hell yeah), and anyone can be American (except illegal aliens, terrorists, and a few select folks in Arizona), and everyone has the right to worship who they want to worship (unless the person you want to worship is David Koresh) here in America.
We’re fair, that’s our story, and we’re sticking to it. We have to be stand by what we said, and we have to lead by example, and be right…even when that means doing something that may seem wrong. That’s the way that we, as Americans, are going to do things around here because we have rules…AMERICAN rules, and those will never die. Born in the U.S.A. Talk to me Goose. Some folks were made to wave the flag, ooooh, that red white and blue.
The flip-side of that coin however, is me thinking “You wanna build a mosque WHERE..?” Not because the people building it are Muslim, or Arab, or believe in a different God than I do…or whatever else it is everyone who’s against them is complaining about. I just think it’s a little sketchy because it was folks from that way of life (allegedly), representing that nation (supposedly), and claiming to be followers of that religion (probably) that most of us here in America don’t follow.

Call me crazy, but folks who have all that in common with the terrorists that caused one of the most tragically memorable moments in America’s history would have to have some major balls to just want to build their place of praise…well…right there. Wasn’t there some other block in this gigantic City that they could’ve chosen..?? That’s kind of like the relatives of the person who killed your kids asking you and your spouse if they can move in across the hall from you.
This is officially the first time I’ve ever ended one of my blog entries with a question, but as I have no official position (because I’m having trouble choosing one), and I really don’t know what else to say, it seems like just this once, it may be the correct thing to do.
…what do you think?
-F

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Filed under Controversy...Ya Gotta Love It, New York City, Religion

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May 13, 2010 · 5:55 am

“Apparently Soda CAN Kill You…”

Hey gang.

I just had to re-post this email that my Dad sent me a while back (and my response to it). I just couldn’t stop laughing..!

– F

PS. Love you Dad!!!!!

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*The Email From My Dad*

From: Hosea Amos
To: Fidel Amos
Subject: FW: Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee be carefullllllllllllllllllThis is Serious!!!!!!!!!

Hi Fidel.

This story is true. It is not restricted to soda cans, it pertains to all cans. Mama and I wash all of the can foods and
drinks before we open them. Please do the same.

Love You,

Daddy


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*The Original Message*

Happy Holidays To All!

Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee be carefullllllllllllllllll

This is Serious!

This incident happened recently in North Texas .
A woman went boating one Sunday taking with her some cans of coke which she put into the refrigerator of the boat. On Monday she was taken to the hospital and placed in the Intensive Care Unit. She died on Wednesday.
The autopsy concluded she died of Leptospirosis. This was traced to the can of coke she drank from, not using a glass. Tests showed that the can was infected by dried rat urine and hence the disease Leptospirosis.
Rat urine conta ins toxic and deathly substances. It is highly recommended to thoroughly wash the upper part of soda cans before drinking out of them. The cans are typically stocked in warehouses and transported straight to the shops without being cleaned.
A study at NYCU showed that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated than public toilets (i.e).. full of germs and bacteria. So wash them with water before putting them to the mouth to avoid any kind of fatal accident.

Please forward this message to all the people you care about.
(I JUST DID)


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*My response*

Dear Dad,

It saddens me to actually think of all of the precious time that you’ve lost sending me this “Warning: You might die” email. It must have taken at least 3 sweet minutes out of your importantly busy, retired, italian style day to paste this into an email and hit ‘forward’.

Dad…

…you could have been doing so much more with your time.

Like taking a walk, enjoying the people, practicing italian, eating a merendina, smooching on my Mom (gross!), watching a western, reading the Bible, cooking spaghetti, eating Nutella, taking nap, taking TWO naps…

The point is, next time, just shoot me an email that says:

“Hey son, heard there were some knuckleheads out there dying…sucking on dirty soda cans. Ha! Ok. gotta go, your Mamma’s callin me.”

And I’ll laugh about it with ya, and then be on my merry way. It only takes 30 seconds, and then you can spend the other 2 and 1/2 minutes doing the stuff that I mentioned before.

Because come on, of all the things that I do, ONE of them is not sucking on dirty soda cans. Geesh. How many times have I heard it “Wipe the top of that can boy…don’t make me jump on you. And even if you didn’t teach me as well as you did (and let’s face it, you did), my simple life experiences and personal hygiend standards would keep me out of that particular bracket of imbecils.

Come on, North Texas? On a boat? On a sunday..??

You know me better than that…I only drink Diet Soda. She was drinking a regular Coke.

Ha! Death by Aspertame!!

That is all.

Out.

– F

PS. Oh, and WHO did you get this information from, ANYWAY..? You sure do trust a lot of emails from a lot of random people. I mean, look at the can in the picture…it’s in Japanese. I thought the girl was in North Texas..?? And look at that warehouse…that does NOT look like an officially licensed Coca Cola storage facility..! Nope. It looks like a Costco…or a Super Wal-Mart…and yeah, those are kinda dirty.

PPS. And I don’t care WHAT that survey said that was taken at NYCU (and where the HECK is NYCU anyway??)…but I will never, ever, EVER believe that the tops of soda cans are more contaminated than public toilet seats!! Ha!! Seriously???? I live in New York city…I’ve seen public toilet seats so scary, grown men would rather go in their pants and just clean it up when they get home.

PPPS. …I’ve seen public toilet seats SO scary, you have to be 21 just to look at them.

PPPPS. …I’ve seen public toilet seats so scary, they wear Phantom of the Opera masks.

PPPPPS. (Yep, still going) …I’ve seen public toilet seats SO scary…the restroom attendant has to blindfold you before you enter the stall.

(Ok, I’m done.)

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March 24, 2010 · 7:04 am

“A New Yorker’s Guide To Being A New Yorker. (Part 1)”

I consider myself a New Yorker.


I wasn’t born in New York, then again, most New Yorkers weren’t.

My family didn’t move to New York when I was 5 either. I’ve lived all over the world, in more cities than I can count on both hands…seriously. I haven’t even been here most of my life.

But I have lived here longer than I’ve lived anywhere else, and I’ve always considered it to be the first city that I’VE actually chosen to live in on my own.

I remember seeing New York City for the first time in 1992…

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The Rules To Being A New Yorker:

(Photo by: Fidel Amos)

Rule #1: “Get The Frak Out Of My Way”

Yes, it’s a tall building. I know, I know, it’s REALLY FRAKKIN TALL. And there has to be at least, 1000 of them! They’re EVERYWHERE, right..?? Totally! Wait…what’s that..? They don’t have buildings this tall where you’re from..? REALLY..?? That’s incredible…well, why don’t you just stand in the middle of the sidewalk and take a look at them..? No, no, noooo…go ahead…take a picture too. I mean, your friends back home aren’t gonna BELIEVE this! Really? What’s that..? You HAVE no friends back home..? Ouch, well why not…

GET THE FRAK OUT OF MY WAY..!!!!

I don’t care what you’re doing..! I DON’T CAAAAAAAAAAARE..!!!!

Just MOOOOOOOOVE out of my frakkkkkkking way!!!

Move, move, moooooooooove!!!

Take your picture from ACROSS THE STREET..! Or IN THE STREET..!

Just mooooooooooooooooooooOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooove..!!!!!

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…that concludes today’s lesson.

…later on I’ll give you another one.

– F

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