8 Comments
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Richard Nalley's avatar

Wonderful piece! If you sent me $100 I'd be able to get medicine for my finger cramps and write a longer comment.

Quentin Hardy's avatar

Unfortunately (for you) all of my disorientations with you are likely to remain highly ritualized.

Marshall Gittler's avatar

A large branch of my family used to live in Schenectady. I don't know what brought them there though and I haven't seen them since I was small.

Quentin Hardy's avatar

Prospects! The place had prospects!

Upstate New York is so interesting, and kind of a cautionary tale. At one point, Buffalo led the world in millionaires per capita, Rochester was a city of optics (Kodak, Baush & Lomb, Xerox), and Schenetady was GE. Not far down the Hudson, IBM. The bright lights of Albany.

Now it's a good place for a cheap house.

Quentin Hardy's avatar

Thanks! I'm so glad I used to travel with a small notebook for my own stuff, along with a bigger one for work. I never would have remembered all of those details, like the woman in the breakfast room.

Lauren Solomon's avatar

Really enjoyed this one! I'm sure I've been conned more than twice. We want so desperately to do good, to do the right thing, even if the story is likely false. And I figure that they need the $20 more than I do.

Quentin Hardy's avatar

Thanks! I'm sure I've been conned far more times than this too. These were the ones I could point to with some confidence.