Michael A. Gonzales reflects back on the 1980s—when he was in his 20s, working as a messenger, and spending his free time browsing iconic New York City bookstores.
Nov 7, 2022Liked by Michael A. Gonzales, Sari Botton
Wow! This so beautifully captures a time and place. Feel as though I’ve gotten a newsy and observant letter from a friend. Thank you for writing and reminding me of what it felt like to begin “adult” life.
Nov 7, 2022Liked by Sari Botton, Michael A. Gonzales
Oh man, I give this five stars. Michael's experiences are so much like my own, only years later, and I could relate to all the places he mentioned from my experiences in 1974-75 working as a messenger for the display advertising department of the Village Voice. There were four of us, and they divided Manhattan into quadrants, and I had everything west of 5th Avenue either below or above 42nd Street, where I'd go to a lot of the places Michael did. What I wanted to know is where he went to the bathroom. For me, that was a big deal, and eventually I discovered that St. Patrick's Cathedral was the best spot. I miss Frances Steloff at the Gotham Book Mart. Scribner's intimidated me because it was so fancy. I had a friend working at Doubleday whom I'd met at Bread Loaf in 1977 and another friend at the 8th Street Bookshop from undergraduate days at Brookyn College (a scary way-too-cool senior when I was a shaky sophomore, she was later a year behind me in the MFA program).
This was beautiful. We got paid $2 an hour and I was already working on my MFA after getting an MA, and people would quit so fast that after 4 weeks in the job, I was the senior messenger. (My most vivid memory is losing a $10,000 check for the Voice from the downtown nightclub Reno Sweeney and my astonishment that they didn't fire me.) I left for a better gig as an adjunct teaching freshman comp to undergrads like Michael at LIU in downtown Brooklyn, and so I knew this would end with him getting a better gig, too. I'm so glad he shared these memories.
Nov 7, 2022Liked by Sari Botton, Michael A. Gonzales
I was just in NYC a couple of weeks ago with my kids and contrasting the city now with the city then makes my head spin a bit. But it's also delicious to be reminded that NYC was the fantastical, gritty, maze of possibility it was in those days. Thanks for this!
Nov 12, 2023Liked by Sari Botton, Michael A. Gonzales
Wow! Your story brings back so many memories. My first job was at Archer Messenger (before they became Archer Courier) when I was 16. The office was at 115 West 42nd St. and the dispatcher was an old, cigar smoking Artie Marcus. I worked about three hours a day after school. There were many characters at that office. The one who stood out was a guy named Al Weiss who always sat on the toilet waiting for his next assignment. Strange, I had so much fun going to different areas on Manhattan and learning the subways, even though I would walk instead of riding the subway so I could be reimbursed for car fare.
Thanks for your story and for bringing back great memories.
Nov 7, 2022Liked by Sari Botton, Michael A. Gonzales
This is fantastic, so much rich detail. I've been working on a three-part series about my time as a theater student in New York City in the early 90s, and this piece actually triggered some memories I had completely forgotten about, especially around the magic of bookstores. I don't know if NYC is a place for young students, or young people, anymore. There used to be so many interesting and helpful resources for students, and you could even live and work in Manhattan if you were lucky, but it just seems like a playground for the oligarchs now. In any case, loved this piece!
Nov 7, 2022Liked by Sari Botton, Michael A. Gonzales
I love this story, great writing even though never lived in NY, I get the idea of the good old days before the internet and all the craziness that goes on now with social media. Great descriptions, characters and narration.
I love this.
Thank you Neko. That means a lot.
💕
Wow! This so beautifully captures a time and place. Feel as though I’ve gotten a newsy and observant letter from a friend. Thank you for writing and reminding me of what it felt like to begin “adult” life.
Thanks for reading the story Tanya. Those days were so special.
Wow! Extra great entry for the Oldster 'Stack. Would happily read a 500-page autobiography from Mr. Gonzales any day! Thanks for posting this!
You're very kind, Harper. Thank you.
You're welcome– very entertaining!
What a beautiful and “cinematic” tour through the NY I remember from my 20s. What a fantastic and inspiring way to start my week.
Thanks Raymond. And, as a major fan of NYC films, “cinematic” was what I was aiming for; I appreciate you seeing that...thank you.
Oh man, I give this five stars. Michael's experiences are so much like my own, only years later, and I could relate to all the places he mentioned from my experiences in 1974-75 working as a messenger for the display advertising department of the Village Voice. There were four of us, and they divided Manhattan into quadrants, and I had everything west of 5th Avenue either below or above 42nd Street, where I'd go to a lot of the places Michael did. What I wanted to know is where he went to the bathroom. For me, that was a big deal, and eventually I discovered that St. Patrick's Cathedral was the best spot. I miss Frances Steloff at the Gotham Book Mart. Scribner's intimidated me because it was so fancy. I had a friend working at Doubleday whom I'd met at Bread Loaf in 1977 and another friend at the 8th Street Bookshop from undergraduate days at Brookyn College (a scary way-too-cool senior when I was a shaky sophomore, she was later a year behind me in the MFA program).
This was beautiful. We got paid $2 an hour and I was already working on my MFA after getting an MA, and people would quit so fast that after 4 weeks in the job, I was the senior messenger. (My most vivid memory is losing a $10,000 check for the Voice from the downtown nightclub Reno Sweeney and my astonishment that they didn't fire me.) I left for a better gig as an adjunct teaching freshman comp to undergrads like Michael at LIU in downtown Brooklyn, and so I knew this would end with him getting a better gig, too. I'm so glad he shared these memories.
So many messenger (and bookstore) stories there should be a collection. Small world on teaching at LIU; what year was that?
I was just in NYC a couple of weeks ago with my kids and contrasting the city now with the city then makes my head spin a bit. But it's also delicious to be reminded that NYC was the fantastical, gritty, maze of possibility it was in those days. Thanks for this!
What a delight this is!
Did you ever see Vanessa again?
Never. But I think about her often...
I interned in the Turtle Bay area in the summer of 1984. Loved the familiar and new territory of this writing. Good way to spend a Monday morning.
Wow! Your story brings back so many memories. My first job was at Archer Messenger (before they became Archer Courier) when I was 16. The office was at 115 West 42nd St. and the dispatcher was an old, cigar smoking Artie Marcus. I worked about three hours a day after school. There were many characters at that office. The one who stood out was a guy named Al Weiss who always sat on the toilet waiting for his next assignment. Strange, I had so much fun going to different areas on Manhattan and learning the subways, even though I would walk instead of riding the subway so I could be reimbursed for car fare.
Thanks for your story and for bringing back great memories.
Thank you too Ari. The city was such a magical place for us young guys. I'm so glad you enjoyed the story.
I was also a 20-year-old scrounging around bookstores in NYC and barely working in 1982... you captured that time perfectly.
Thank you Lisa...
I loved reading this. Thank you!
I haven’t read anything in a long time. This was a lucky read to start again.
Love, love, love this and the atmosphere of a gritty, more creative NYC.
This is fantastic, so much rich detail. I've been working on a three-part series about my time as a theater student in New York City in the early 90s, and this piece actually triggered some memories I had completely forgotten about, especially around the magic of bookstores. I don't know if NYC is a place for young students, or young people, anymore. There used to be so many interesting and helpful resources for students, and you could even live and work in Manhattan if you were lucky, but it just seems like a playground for the oligarchs now. In any case, loved this piece!
Thank you Alicia. I look forward to your series.
I love this story, great writing even though never lived in NY, I get the idea of the good old days before the internet and all the craziness that goes on now with social media. Great descriptions, characters and narration.