MangoZeen

Sam Royalle is planning to open up the Ban Suay Go-Go on Walking Street. He offered me the position of manager. The pay was better than my salary on 47th Street.
“You speak Thai, understand the culture, and have worked bars before. You’re perfect for the job.” Sam texted the message over Skype.
“More like I […]

New York in the summer of 1981 was everything it wasn’t in the winter of 1979. The temperature boiled the asphalt. Punk had been replaced by New Wave and somehow the city had escaped bankruptcy. Money flowed on the streets and even the East Village exhibited signs of regeneration, since abandoned tenements can only be […]

Diamonds sales were non-existent during the run-up to Valentine’s Day.
At least by the masses. They were flat broke. Not everyone was that bad off. Most everyone, but the wealthy were splurging on big ticket items. 6-figure purchases of watches, diamonds, and jewelry. The good items were still rolling for Wall Street. None of these sales […]

Club 57 was a great venue under a Polish Church on St. Marks Place. My persona non grata status came from deserting my hillbilly girlfriend who founded the avant-garde joint. She is still a friend, although for a long time, my name was an anathema.
Here’s my bio from Club 57.
Peter Nolan Smith is an underground […]

My father can’t remember much anymore. His Alzheimer’s is very advanced, but he does remember me, despite my living in New York.
“At least you look like you used to look.”
The mirror argues that opinion every morning, but I have to agree with my father. Very few people like they used to look. Some of them […]