Stacy Horn

I’ve started working on the section about the Penitentiary on Blackwell’s Island (backstory: I’m writing a book about Blackwell’s Island for Algonquin Books). I find this great quote by Charles Dickens describing the stripes the men wore, and I wondered if the women wore stripes as well. But I couldn’t find a reference to what the women wore anywhere, not in decades of annual reports, or newspaper articles, etc. I also couldn’t find a single photograph of the female prisoners, although I found a couple of drawings, which kinda looked like the women’s dresses were striped, but it looked more like the technique they used to employ for shading.

Then I remember I have this great article by Emma Goldman, who spent a year in the Penitentiary. Surely she would think to include a detail like that! I’m looking around on my computer, but I don’t immediately find it. Where did I put it? And what was the title again?

Here’s the part that proves my brain no longer works. Recap: I’m specifically trying to find out if the women wore stripes. So, I suddenly remember the title of Goldman’s article. It’s, “My Year in Stripes.” But do I realize then that I now have my answer?? NO. I was just happy I remembered the title, and I read through the article, not realizing until I got to the line about what they wore that the answer was in the title. Idiot!

An arrest I recently walked by in the 14th Street subway station.

It’s eleven years old, so I can’t complain, it served me well. But I am absolutely freaked out at how much I spent. I can’t really afford it. I even tried to fix it. I took the back off, which was an insane amount of work, it’s this massive thing. I really should have taken pictures. I have one of the first HDTVs that came out, which were still the old CRT/tube style. It weighs 140 pounds! That in itself is causing another issue. How I’m going to dispose of it?? If I could even get it downstairs, I can’t just leave it on the street for pickup.

Anyway, I took the entire back off, replaced a fuse inside, but it didn’t fix the problem. I was so disappointed. I really thought I was going to be my own handyman to the rescue!

John Legend, and a shot of some of the audience, at the Westfield World Trade Center shopping center. The girl second from the right had an expression of bliss the whole time.

It’s the shot I chose for the banner, because look at that expression. My Finney. Actually, I’m going to try to get a good shot of him and how he looks currently. He’s a bit old. And a bit senile.

As a member of the 9/11 community I was invited to the opening of the new shopping center down at the WTC site. Normally I wouldn’t go, because when are things like this ever worth going to?? I don’t know why I did! But it was fabulous from beginning to end. We got this amazing gift bag, (and I mean really, truly amazing) the stores gave us stuff, there was a lovely “Sampling Cafe” with great food from the cafes in the shopping center, and fantastic entertainment.

So thank you to the organizers and everyone who worked to put this together, thank you 9/11 Tribute Center, and Leslie Odom, Jr., the School of Rock cast, Dr. Draw, the Harlem Gospel Choir, Jordan Smith and John Legend. I really had a great time and I appreciate your effort.

Some pictures of the School of Rock cast, who were insanely talented and adorable. I noticed that I caught them while airborne so a couple of closeups of that follow this first shot.

I’m so glad I did this. Sweat was pouring off me non-stop, in rivers, but shockingly, lots of people came out in this insane weather to hear us. When they went to check the crowds before we went out, no one was there, and we were fine with that. There is simply no exaggerating how hot it is here. There’s nothing like urban heat. The buildings and streets and sidewalks soak up and radiate everything the sun puts out, so the temperature is not only amplified, the waves are coming at you from all directions.

But when we walked out people were everywhere. They were encouraged to walk among us and they did. They commented and talked while we sang, which sounds like it should have been annoying, but it was the exact opposite. It was exciting. It was like having roving sportcasters giving live assessments of our progress. I loved it.

Here is David Lang (composer), Simon Halsey (conductor) and Annie-B Parson (choreographer)!